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GOYA 


AS  PORTRAIT  PAINTER 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  SPANISH 


BY 


SELWYN  BRINTON,  M.A. 


GOYA  AS  A  YOUNG  MAN.  SELF-PORTRAIT 


Plate  I 


(p-  is: 


GOYA 

AS  PORTRAIT  PAINTER 

BY 

A.  DE  BERUETE  Y  MORET 


KID 

813 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1922 


PRINTEt)  IN  r.REAT  BRITAIN. 

IIISVVICK  TRESS:  CHARLES  WHITTINGIIAM  AND  GRIGGS  (PRINIERS),  LTD, 
TOOKS  COURT,  CHANCERY  LANE,  LONDON. 


THE  J.  PAUL  GETTY  MUSEUM  LIBRARY 


TRANSLATOR’S  PREFACE 


The  work  of  translation  of  the  present  volume — a  study 
of  a  great  Spanish  master  of  old  days  by  a  very  well-known 
Spanish  critic  of  our  own  time — has  been  for  me  one  of 
very  special  interest. 

As  early  as  1905,  when  I  was  editor  of  the  Langham  Series, 
I  brought  to  the  notice  of  my  publisher,  and  subsequently  myself 
translated,  the  volume  which  appeared  in  that  series  from  the 
German  of  Dr.  Richard  Muther. 

There  could  scarcely  be  a  greater  contrast  than  that  between 
Muther’s  volume  and  the  one  which  it  is  now  my  privilege  to 
bring  before  the  English  public.  In  a  brilliant  synthesis  of  scarcely 
more  than  sixty  pages,  the  German  author  of  “The  History  of 
Modern  Painting  ”  created  a  wonderful  picture,  both  of  the  artist 
himself  and  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived  and  worked,  a  picture  in 
which— even  if  some  details  might  be  open  to  question — the  vivid 
impression  seized  and  held  the  imagination.  The  work  of  Señor 
D.  Aureliano  de  Beruete  y  Moret,  Director  of  the  Prado  Museum, 
is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  careful,  complete,  and  authoritative  analysis 
of  the  artist  and  his  work  in  portraiture,  decoration,  and  engraving, 
which  will  be  indispensable  to  the  future  student  or  collector  of 
Goya’s  work. 

In  the  present  volume  we  approach  only  one  side  of  Goya’s 
genius.  The  terrible  analyst  of  his  country  and  mankind  in  its 

V 


VI 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


weakness,  cruelty,  or  folly,  the  magician  whose  pencil  or  graver 
can  carry  us  into  the  land  of  witches,  goblins,  and  monsters,  the 
Goya  of  the  “Caprichos,"  the  “Desastres  de  la  Guerra,”  and  the  wall 
paintings  of  the  Ouinta  is  not  yet  before  us.  We  see  here  only 
Goya  the  portrait  painter;  but  as  such  the  master  is  no  less  great. 
I  should  say,  indeed,  with  my  knowledge  of  the  present  work,  and 
after  careful  personal  study  when  recently  in  Spain,  that  he  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  portraitist  who  ever  lived. 

Not  alone  this.  Me  comes  before  us  in  this  volume  as  the 
direct  ancestor  of  all  that  is  most  real,  most  alive,  in  the  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  modern  art.  His  deft  fingers,  guided  by  the  insight  of 
genius,  caught  up  the  torch  of  the  past,  and  perpetuated  the 
tradition  handed  down  in  his  own  land  from  the  days  of  Greco 
and  Velazquez.  This  tradition  he  was  to  develop  in  his  own 
marvellous  “grey”  portraits  (of  which  the  finest  are  those  of  his 
son  and  of  his  brother-in-law,  b'rancisco  Bayeu);  this  tradition,  as 
Señor  de  Beruete  has  here  so  ably  demonstrated,  was,  in  his  later 
work,  to  be  the  inspiration  of  the  new  movement  which  arose  in 
Paris  from  i860  onwards,  and  with  which  the  names  of  Monet, 
Degas,  Cezanne,  above  all  of  Manet,  are  intimately  and  indissolubly 
connected.  To  understand  this  movement  we  have  to  go  back  to 
Francisco  (ioya;  to  understand  Goya  we  shall  find  authoritative 
guidance  in  the  present  volume. 

The  punctuation — where  it  exists  at  all — in  those  wonderful 
lettres  intimes  of  the  artist  to  Martin  Zapater  I  have  left  unaltered. 

SELWYN  BRINTON. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Né  a  Fuendetodos  (Espagne) 

Le  30  Mars  1746 
EsT  MoRT  dans  CETTE  MaISON 
Le  16  Avril  1828 

This  ís  what  we  are  told  by  a  memorial  stone  placed  at  a 
fair  height  upon  a  house  of  the  Cours  de  I’lntendance,  in 
the  city  of  Bordeaux. 

These  simple  words,  without  any  commentary,  or  indication  of 
the  activity  for  which  the  man  to  whom  they  are  dedicated  was 
distinguished,  engraved  as  they  are  on  a  modest  tablet,  escape  the 
notice  of  the  majority  of  visitors  to  a  city  whose  essential  life  is 
commercial.  Likely  enough,  some  passing  reader  may  think  Goya 
to  have  been  an  enthusiast,  a  philanthropist,  who  had  befriended 
this  country  and  whom  chance,  no  doubt,  had  caused  to  be  born  at 
Fuendetodos  in  Spain ;  then,  without  thinking  further  of  Goya,  a 
name  that  would  sound  to  him  more  Basque  than  French  or 
Castilian,  he  will  pursue  his  way. 

But  for  those  others  to  whom  the  name  of  Goya  is  a  whole 
evocation,  and  those  are  already  many  in  number,  the  tablet  needs 
no  more  words  or  explanation.  In  that  hospitable  city,  to  which 
destiny  had  carried  him  in  his  last  years,  there  had  died,  old 
indeed  and  infirm,  but  always  active  and  fruitful,  a  Spanish  genius 
whose  work  is  a  mirror  in  which  is  refiected,  with  faithful  and 
unalterable  forms,  all  the  society  of  his  time,  from  the  king  down 
to  the  beggars,  giving  us  the  exact  sensation  of  something  that  we 
had  thought  of  in  a  vague  and  confused  manner.  And  all  this 

vii 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


viii 

Goya  had  expressed  with  that  clearness  of  diction  and  with  that 
sincerity  which  characterizes  the  great  creations  of  Spain  in  all 
the  arts. 

Mis  works,  moreover,  move  us  and  interest  us  powerfully 
through  the  fact  that  they  are  so  spontaneous,  that  they  are  so 
alive;  and  his  power  of  expression,  with  the  character  which  he 
knows  how  to  give  them,  place  us  in  an  intimate  community  of 
feeling  with  the  artist. 

In  a  production  so  exuberant  and  so  varied  as  his  there  will 
be  noticed  changes,  there  will  be  observed  influences  working  out 
athwart  his  manifest  originality.  The  picturesque  note,  so  charm¬ 
ing  and  suggestive,  becomes  changed  for  another  art  more  intense 
and  more  complex.  There  is  a  Goya  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
a  Goya  of  the  nineteenth  century;  and  this  is  not  due  only  to  a 
change  of  technique,  of  artistic  development  which  would  be 
perfectly  easy  to  understand.  There  is  something  deeper,  a 
change  in  the  creative  idea,  in  the  characteristic,  the  dominant 
features  of  his  production,  which  becomes  transformed  in  a  sudden 
and  violent  manner.  Compare  those  scenes  of  the  tapestries  and 
of  his  pictures  of  festive  rejoicing,  so  courtly,  so  gay  and  gallant, 
easy  and  sometimes  even  trifling  in  their  conception,  with  those 
other  scenes  which  decorated  his  country  house,  with  the  drawings 
of  his  old  age  and  with  the  “  Disasters  of  War.” 

Ilis  spirit  had  gained  in  strength,  and,  nourished  by  his  glow¬ 
ing  imagination  and  holding  at  its  disposal  a  technique  marvellously 
adapted  for  the  expression  of  his  ideas,  gave  as  its  result  this 
colossal  art  of  his  later  years. 

If  we  study  his  work  in  its  relation  to  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  artist  and  with  the  events  of  which  he  was  witness,  we  shall 
observe  the  connection  between  his  works  and  the  dates  of  their 
creation.  His  change  of  life,  his  progress  from  those  easy  years, 
so  gay,  so  prosperous,  to  those  other  sad  days  of  blood  and  fire,  of 
shame  and  exile,  contributed  without  doubt  to  discipline  his  mind 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


IX 


u 

and  to  arouse  his  intelligence;  while  his  fondness  for  the  fantastic 
and  his  tendency  towards  the  world  of  visions  found  a  propitious 
occasion  in  those  moments  of  invasion  and  war  to  carry  him 
beyond  himself,  until,  as  he  himself  has  said:  “the  dream  of 
reason  produced  monsters.” 

As  artist  and  creator,  in  this  second  aspect  of  his  production, 
rather  of  the  idea  than  of  the  form,  he  shows  himself  to  us  as 
unequal  and  frequently  incorrect,  since  he  sacrifices  everything  to 
attain  those  qualities.  Thus,  in  unfolding  his  ideas  into  lines  and 
masses,  and  seeking  to  obtain  the  spirit  which  he  wishes  to 
communicate  to  them,  he  could  not  subject  himself  precisely  to 
reality,  and  therefore  to  some  extent  forgets  and  neglects  points  of 
detail,  of  which  he  elsewhere  shows  his  entire  mastery  in  produc¬ 
tions  of  the  most  consummate  realism.  And,  in  fact,  in  this  imagi¬ 
native  art  of  the  expression  of  ideas,  correctness  of  detail  is  not  the 
most  important  quality  which  is  required. 

The  originality  of  Goya,  even  the  variety  of  his  art,  the  fact  of 
his  not  belonging  to  a  glorious  moment  of  Spanish  art,  and  yet 
not  appearing  in  some  ways  an  isolated  genius,  make  it  difficult 
rightly  to  place  and  to  assign  to  his  figure  its  true  place  in  the 
history  of  art.  Sr.  Araujo,  who  had  studied  Goya’s  works 
attentively,  arrives  at  the  following  conclusion:  “Goya  did  not 
protest  against  the  course  which  art  followed  in  his  time,  he  did 
not  preach,  did  not  pretend  to  make  any  new  discovery  or  to  found 
a  school.  He  felt  as  he  did,  saw  as  he  did,  understood  as  he  did 
and  so  he  painted — that  is  all.” 

To  accept,  however,  this  statement  it  would  be  necessary  to 
believe  that  great  artists  arise  to  some  extent  by  chance;  that 
they  appear  from  time  to  time  in  some  place  or  other  and  create 
according  to  their  own  fancy,  uninfiuenced  either  by  the  race  to 
which  they  belong  or  by  its  tradition  or  by  the  school  in  which 
they  have  learned  or  by  the  times  in  which  they  had  lived.  Inas¬ 
much  as  this  view  is  totally  inadmissible,  I  consider  that  the  only 

b 


X 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


critical  attitude  possible  toward  Goya  is  that  which  investigates 
and  fully  analyses  the  causes  of  his  feeling,  his  life,  his  under¬ 
standing  and  his  art. 

The  author  of  the  following  pages  believes  that  he  has 
perceived  and  even  felt  before  certain  of  the  works  of  Goya 
something  of  all  this;  and  to  the  study  of  the  different  phases  of 
the  painter,  of  his  changes  and  the  influences  which  crossed  his 
production,  this  critical  review  has  been  dedicated.  This  man,  who 
seems  so  individual  and  apart,  who  was  born  in  a  hidden  corner 
of  the  land  of  Aragon,  and  who  at  first  sight  appears  as  an  isolated 
and  solitary  genius,  independent,  without  tradition  and  without 
school,  is  not  this  if  we  look  closer,  but,  notwithstanding  his 
originality  and  his  varied  outlook,  is  quite  the  contrary;  he  is  a 
Spaniard  to  the  very  marrow  and  a  man  of  his  time  as  much  as  of 
his  race.  His  task  is  in  fact  the  continuation  of  .Spanish  painting, 
of  that  painting  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  which 
had  been  forgotten  and  superseded  by  foreign  influences  in  the 
years  preceding  those  in  which  he  lived.  His  it  is  to  be  the  link 
which  was  to  unite  that  which  was  to  come  with  that  which  had 
been,  determining,  at  the  same  time  as  his  own  period  of  transition, 
those  principles  of  the  graphic  arts  which  could  form  part  of  the 
progress  of  our  painting;  and  hence,  as  an  ultimate  result  of 
Spanish  creation,  of  even  those  elements  which  later  came  to  influ¬ 
ence  universal  art  outside  our  nation,  originating  in  this  way  one 
of  the  most  important  phases  of  what  is  now  called  modern  art. 

Really  to  grasp  all  this,  to  appreciate  it  as  a  whole,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  study  Goya  in  his  numerous  phases  and  aspects.  But 
his  work  is  so  vast  and  so  varied  that  this  needed  a  complex  study, 
and  for  this  reason  I  have  preferred  in  this  book  to  treat  only  one 
of  those  aspects,  to  describe  him  as  a  portrait  painter.  Being  the 
simplest,  the  most  attractive,  and  for  many  reasons  the  most 
appropriate  point  of  view  to  study  him  chronologically,  it  was  not 
possible  to  have  commenced  otherwise.  Some  new  facts  given,  the 


CONDE  DE  FLORIDABLANCA 


Plate  II 


(P.  21) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  xi 

notice  of  such  and  such  a  date  which  had  been  unknown,  and  the 
publication  of  various  portraits  hitherto  not  written  of  or  little 
known,  will,  I  believe,  lend  to  this  work  an  interest  which  perhaps 
I  shall  not  succeed  in  giving  to  the  descriptive  side  or  to  my 
personal  comment,  despite  the  enthusiasm  and  good  will  that 
have  gone  to  their  making. 

Madrid.  October  1915. 


NOTE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

The  preceding  notice  is  that  which  appeared  as  preface  to  this 
book  when  first  it  was  published  three  years  ago. 

To-day,  in  this  second  edition  now  offered  to  the  public,  I 
have  to  make  the  following  observation.  Goya:  Pintor  de 
Retratos  (1916)  was  the  first  volume  which  I  proposed  to  dedi¬ 
cate  to  the  study  of  the  great  painter;  a  volume  which  was  followed 
by  Goya:  Composiciones  y  P'iguras (1917)  and  Goya:  Grapador 
(1918).  In  these  two  last  were  published  some  additions  to  the 
first  volume  which  would  find  a  more  fitting  place  in  this  second 
edition,  were  it  not  that  with  this  edition  there  was  no  question 
of  more  than  revising  the  present  work,  the  series  being  completed 
with  the  two  following  volumes.  In  spite  of  this — and  even 
perhaps  leaving  for  later  the  question  of  the  fusion  of  the  three 
volumes  into  such  form  as  would  impart  to  the  work  greater  unity 
and  completeness — there  will  be  found  in  this  second  edition  of 
Goya:  Pintor  de  Retratos  not  a  few  new  notes  and  observations, 
as  well  as  some  corrections,  without  prejudice  to  the  additions  to 
this  same  work  which  appear,  as  I  have  said,  in  the  two  following 
volumes.  At  the  same  time  in  the  present  edition  the  illustrations 
have  been  increased  and  improved. 


Madrid.  October  1918. 


4i 


J 


CONTENTS 

Translator’s  Preface 
Francisco  Goya  y  Lucientes  . 

List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 

V 

vii 


XV 


EDITOR’S  NOTE 


It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  have  to  record,  since  going  to  press 
with  this  work,  the  death  on  lo  June  last  of  its  author,  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  critic  and  Director  of  the  Prado  Museum,  Señor  Don 
Aureliano  de  Beruete  y  Moret.  The  presentation  in  English 
of  his  great  work  on  Goya  I  know  to  have  been  one  of  Señor  de 
Beruete’s  dearest  wishes,  and  one  which  he  was  looking  forward 
with  keen  interest  to  seeing  fulfilled  in  a  worthy  manner. 


I  HAVE  to  note  to  the  reader  an  erratum  of  some  importance. 
When  this  book  had  been  already  finally  corrected  for  press  two 
very  fine  plates,  from  portraits  of  the  Duque  de  Alba  and  the 
Marchesa  de  Villafranca,  came  into  my  hands  from  Madrid,  which 
were  able  to  be  included  in  the  work,  being  Plates  XIX  and  XX, 
but  when  it  was  too  late  to  correct  all  the  references  in  the  text. 
All  reference,  therefore,  in  this  edition  to  Plates  subsequent  to 
Plates  XIX  and  XX  must  be  carried  by  the  reader  two  Plates 
forward. 

S.B. 


FURTHER  ERRATUM 

P..  215,  Portrait  No.  276,  yhr  “(Pacully  Collection,  Paris)”  read 
“  (Jaffe  Collection,  Nice).” 


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CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Translator’s  Preface . v 

Francisco  Goya  y  Lucientes . vii 

List  of  Illustrations . xv 

Chapter  L  Before  1783 . i 

11.  From  1783  to  1789 . 20 

III.  The  Grey  Portraits — Portraits  of  the 

Year  1795 . 43 

IV.  Bull-fighters — Majas — Portraits  of  the 

Last  Five  Years  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century  ......  66 

V.  Goya  as  Court  Painter  in  the  Year  1799. 

Portraits  of  the  Court  •  •  •  95 

VI.  The  Full  Power  of  the  Artist  as  Por¬ 
trait  Painter,  1801-1808  .  .  .  Ill 

VII.  1808-1813.  Spain  Invaded  ....  132 

VIII.  1814-1828.  The  Last  Portraits  Painted 

BY  Goya  in  Madrid.  The  Exile  .  .  157 

IX.  Conclusion  .  189 

Bibliography  .  .  .  195 

List  of  Portraits  .  .  201 


xiii 


' '  MM  .. 


•  ^  .1- 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

TO  FACE 
PAGE 

Plate  I.  Goya  as  a  Young  Man.  Self-Portrait 

Frontispiece 

II.  Conde  de  Floridablanca  ....  xi 

III.  Don  Ventura  Rodriguez  .  .  .  .  io 

IV.  Self-Portrait  of  Goya . i8 

V.  Unknown  Youth . 24 

VI.  Charles  IV . 28 

VII.  Portrait  of  a  Young  Girl  ....  36 

VIII.  Queen  Maria  Luisa . 38 

IX.  Marquesa  de  Pontejos . 42 

X.  Don  Sebastián  Martínez  ....  44 

XI.  Doña  Tadea  Arias  de  Enriquez  ...  48 

XII.  La  Tirana . 50 

XI II.  Marque.sa  de  la  Solana  ....  54 

XIV.  Francisco  Bayeu . 60 

XV.  Francisco  Javier  Goya . 62 

XVI.  Pedro  Romero . 64 

XVII.  Duquesa  DE  Alba . 68 

XVIII.  Duquesa  de  Alba . 70 

XIX.  Duque  de  Alba . 72 

XX.  Marquesa  de  Villafranca  ....  74 

XXL  Marquesa  de  Lazan . 76 

XXII.  Marquesa  de  las  Mercedes  ....  78 

XXI 11.  Rita  Molinos . 80 

XXIV.  The  Bookseller  of  Calle  de  Carretas  .  82 

XXV.  Melendez  Valdes  ......  86 

XXVI.  Martin  Zapater  ......  88 


XV 


XVI 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


TO  FACE 
PAGE 

XXVI I,  F.  Guillemardet . 90 

XXVIII.  Jove  Llanos . 92 

XXIX.  The  Family  of  Charles  IV  ...  94 

XXX.  The  Infanta  Maria  Luisa  ....  100 

XXXI.  Don  Manuel  Godoy . 106 

XXXII.  Condesa  DE  Chinchón . 108 

XXXIII.  CoNDE.SA  DE  Chinchón  (detail)  .  .  .110 

XXXIV.  Mariano  Goya . 112 

XXXV.  Mariano  Goya . 114 

XXXVI.  Conde  DE  Fernán  Nunez  .  .  .  .116 

XXXVII.  Marqués  DE  San  Adrián  .  .  .  .118 

XXXVIII.  Marquesa  de  Santa  Cruz  .  .  .  .120 

XXXIX.  Condesa  DE  Haro . 122 

XL.  Doña  Antonia  Zárate  .  .  .  .124 

XLL  Mocarte  .  .  .  .  .  .  .126 

XLII.  Don  Tadeo  Bravo  Rivero  ....  130 

XLIII.  Don  José  Manuel  Romero .  .  .  .  134 

XLIV.  Don  Juan  Antonio  Llorfnie  .  .  .  138 

XLV.  General  Guye . 144 

XLVI.  Víctor  Guye  ......  146 

XLVII.  I  .ORD  WTllington  .  .  .  .  .148 

XLVI  11.  Doña  Josefa  B.vyeu,  Wife  of  Goya  .  .  150 

XLIX.  Pepito  Corte . 152 

L.  Ferdinand  VII  .  .  .  .  .  .  156 

LI.  Duque  de  San  Carlos  ....  160 

LII.  Goya  in  1815.  Self-Portrait  .  .  .164 

LUI.  Duquesa  de  Aerantes  ....  166 

LIV.  José  L.  Munárriz  .  .  .  .  .168 

LV.  Tiburcio  Pérez  .  .  .  .  .  .174 

LVI.  Ramón  vSatue  . . 176 

LVII.  Jacques  Galos . 180 

LVIII.  Juan  de  Muguiro  .  .  .  .  .  i8ó 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


CHAPTER  I 


Before  1783 


W 


HAT  is  known  of  the  birth  and  first  years  of  Goya — and 
in  fact  little  is  known  for  certain — may  be  conveniently 
sought  in  the  small  volume,  which  is  already  rare, 


entitled  “  Goya.  Noticias  biográficas  por  D.  Francisco  Zapater  y 
Gomez,”  published  in  Zaragoza  in  1868. 

D.  Martin  Zapater  was  a  fellow  pupil  with  Goya  in  the  Esquela 
Pía  of  Zaragoza,  the  school  to  which  they  were  both  sent  as  boys. 

Intimate  friends  at  that  time,  they  preserved  their  friendship 
during  their  whole  lifetime,  as  is  proved  by  the  whole  series  of 
letters  from  Goya  to  his  compatriot  which  have  been  handed  down 
to  us ;  spontaneous  outpourings  in  which  the  painter  lets  us  know 
his  preferences,  his  feelings,  and  interesting  details  of  his  life. 
More,  a  thousand  times  more,  than  a  large  volume  on  the  subject  of 
Goya  do  these  brief  utterances,  written  without  premeditation  and 
even  without  orthography,  reflect  the  character  of  the  painter,  his 
difficulties  in  his  earlier  years,  and  his  first  triumphs. 

A  nephew  of  Zapater,  Francisco  Zapater,  was  the  author  of 
the  work  above  mentioned. 

This  second  Zapater  published  in  Zaragoza — in  touch  with  the 
village  of  Fuendetodos  and  at  no  great  distance  of  time  from  the 
painter’s  own  life—a  series  of  notes,  written  with  sympathetic 
enthusiasm,  as  an  honourable  tribute  to  the  family  of  Goya,  whose 
good  memory  had  been  touched  on  by  other  writers  a  little 
previously.  This  comparatively  slight  work  is  supported — and 

P 


2 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


indeed  based  upon — precisely  that  series  of  letters  of  unquestion¬ 
able  authenticity  which  were  addressed  to  his  uncle,  D.  Martin. 

I  propose  later  to  reproduce  certain  of  these  letters  which  I 
consider  of  interest,  and  to  make  known  others  which  contain 
notices  or  reveal  details  of  importance  about  Goya. 

The  biographers  who  wrote  after  Zapater’s  publication  have 
not  ventured  to  give  as  trustworthy  the  anecdotes  and  legends 
which  were  existing  before  1868,  and,  excepting  those  whom  I  shall 
mention  at  the  proper  time,  the  rest,  notwithstanding  their  good 
intentions,  ha\'e  added  little  or  nothing  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
first  years  of  the  artist’s  life;  but  have  copied  one  from  the  other, 
commenting  on  or  treating  unnecessarily  many  insignificant  details 
of  the  childhood  and  youth  of  this  painter. 

Goya  was  born  on  30  March  1746,  of  a  modest  working-class 
family,  who  were,  however,  in  relatively  good  circumstances  and 
even  noble — since  his  mother,  Doña  Gracia  Lucientes,  belonged  to 
the  nobility  of  the  country — in  Fuendetodos,  a  poor  village  of  120 
inhabitants,  without  pasture  land  and  without  a  stream,  situated 
in  the  midst  of  Aragon. 

I  le  was  baptized  on  the  following  day,  and  the  document  which 
confirms  this,  copied  literally  by  Zapater  from  the  parish  books, 
states  as  follows:  “  En  treinta  y  uno  de  Marzo  de  mil  settecientos 
cuarenta  y  seis.  Bautice  yo  el  infrascripto  Vic°.  un  Niño  que  nació 
el  día  antecedente  immediato,  hijo  legitimo  de  Jph  Goya  y  de  Gracia 
Lucientes  legitim,  te  casados  habitantes  en  esta  Parroquia  y  vecinos 
de  Zaragoza:  se  le  puso  por  nombre  Francisco  Joseph  Goya:  fué 
su  Madrina  Francisca  Grasa  desta  Parroquia,  á  la  qual  advertí  el 
Parentesco  espiritual  que  abía  contraido  con  el  Bautizado  y  la 
obligación  de  enseñarle  la  doctrina  Christriana  en  defecto  de  sus 
Padres,  y  por  la  verdad  hago  y  firmo  la  Presente  en  fuendetodos 
dho  dia  mes  y  año  ut  supra,  etc. — Licenciado  Jph  Ximeno,  Vic.  o.”  ^ 

^  In  this  document  there  are  certain  additions  which  have  not  any  value  or  added 
interest.  They  have  placed  at  the  head  of  the  document:  “  Francisc  Jphs  Goya. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


3 


The  parents  of  Goya  had  several  children,  among  them  Thomas, 
who  was  at  first  a  gilder  and  worked  afterwards  upon  carved  altar- 
pieces,  while  Camilo  became  an  ecclesiastic,  and  Rita  married  and 
lived  in  Zaragoza. 

Goya  spent  only  the  years  of  his  boyhood  in  Fuendetodos; 
then  he  went  to  Zaragoza  to  study  the  art  of  painting,  for  which  he 
showed  a  fondness  and  natural  predilection.  When  Zapater  was 
preparing  his  book  he  stayed  in  Fuendetodos  and  could  see  the 
house  in  which  the  painter  was  born,  which  was  then  marked  (in 
the  year  1868)  with  the  number  18^  of  the  Calle  de  la  Alfondiga. 
Zapater  could  at  the  same  time  collect  the  memories  which  some 
of  the  older  inhabitants,  whose  name  and  condition  he  states, 
preserved  of  the  painter  and  his  family;  and,  while  commencing  by 
denying  all  the  legends  which  had  already  taken  shape  in  this 
connection  in  those  years,  he  says:  “  Those  old  natives  of  the  place 
related  that  Goya  was  mischievous  and  restless  as  a  boy,  that  he 
used  to  sketch  figures,  and  that  he  painted  in  the  Chapel  of  Relics 
some  part  of  the  wall  in  fresco,  and  afterwards  in  oil  upon  the  doors 
of  the  Retablo  the  descent  of  the  Virgin  of  Pilar;  that  in  1808, 
while  he  was  staying  in  the  village  during  the  second  siege  which 
Zaragoza  endured,  he  was  deaf  and  his  servant  addressed  him  by 
signs,  making  use  of  an  alphabet  of  this  nature  which  is  in  use  to 
this  day.  They  mentioned  also  that  when  Goya  saw  the  above- 
mentioned  altar-piece  he  exclaimed:  ‘You  would  not  say  that  I  had 
painted  that’ ;  but  these  poor  people  had  no  recollection  of  an  event 
which  must  have  left  an  impression  in  his  native  place,  and  per- 


Pintor  de  su  Magesdad  en  la  Cortes.”  Without  doubt  this  was  inserted  to  mark  and 
distinguish  the  document,  since  a  matter  so  well  known  and  of  so  much  later  date  than 
the  register  itself  could  have  no  other  object. 

*  The  Conde  de  la  Viñaza  in  his  work  upon  Goya  states  that  it  was  number  15, 
and  brings  evidence  that  it  was  so. 

The  idea  recently  realized  by  the  distinguished  artist,  Ignacio  Zuloaga,  of  preserv¬ 
ing  Goya’s  house  as  a  little  museum,  as  a  homage  to  the  great  man  of  Fuendetodos, 
merits  every  praise. 


4 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


sisted  in  asserting  that  Goya  left  Fuendetodos  because  there  was 
already  nothing  there  which  he  could  learn  as  a  painter.” 

Goya  was  a  pupil  in  Zaragoza  of  D.  Jose  Luzan,  a  master  of 
some  standing  who  had  formed  himself  in  Italy  in  that  period  of 
facile  mannerism.  It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  he  left  no 
impression  on  the  art  of  his  young  pupil — a  painter  of  a  very 
different  temperament  and  inclinations  totally  distinct  from  those 
proclaimed  by  Luzan.  Even  when  very  young,  almost  a  child, 
Goya  betook  himself  to  Madrid,  perhaps  thinking  that  the  numer¬ 
ous  and  influential  colony  of  his  compatriots,  which  then  formed 
the  so-called  party  of  Aragon,  could  help  him  there.  If  this  were  so, 
his  hopes  were  deceived,  for  a  few  years  later  Goya  went  to  Rome 
to  perfect  his  study  of  art,  and  on  this  matter  the  only  thing  we 
know  is  that  he  undertook  the  journey  with  very  limited  resources 
and  hindered  by  difficulties  of  every  kind.  The  exact  date  of  the 
departure  of  the  painter  for  Rome  is  unknown.  Without  being  able 
to  give  precise  dates  I  incline  to  think,  from  what  Zapater  states 
and  from  conjectures  which  may  be  formed  from  letters  and  dates, 
that  this  journey  was  near  to  the  year  1770,  if  not  that  very 
year.  This  matters  very  little,  since  it  did  not  affect  in  anyway  the 
development  of  the  artist;  the  fact  is  that  he  was  in  Rome  when 
still  very  young,  and  of  his  stay  there  only  one  certain  date  is 
known,  which  is  that  in  1772  he  obtained  the  second  prize  in  a 
competition  organized  by  the  Academy  of  Parma,  with  a  picture 
which  represented  “  Hannibal  contemplating  from  the  Alps  the 
plains  of  Italy.”  In  the  official  notice  it  is  stated  that  Goya  was  a 
pupil  of  Vayeu,  painter  to  the  Ring  of  Spain.  And  moreover  we 
are  informed  that  the  jury  were  inclined  to  have  given  him  the  first 
prize,  if  he  had  kept  more  closely  within  his  subject  and  had  put 
more  truth  into  his  colouring. 

The  Conde  de  la  Vinaza,  in  his  book  upon  our  painter, 
publishes  documents  relating  to  various  commissions  which  Goya 
received  approximately  at  this  epoch  in  Zaragoza. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


5 


To  these  years  of  his  student  life  those  writers  and  biographers 
of  Goya,  who  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to  verify  their  sources  of 
information,  refer  the  anecdotes  which  make  of  the  artist’s  life  a 
series  of  adventures,  quarrels,  assaults  upon  convents,  etc.  Nothing 
of  all  this  seems  to  be  proved.  Araujo,  Viñaza,  Von  Loga,  and 
others  destroy  the  possibility  of  the  majority  of  these  actions, 
by  their  descriptions  of  the  sober  character  of  his  working  life. 

The  first  portraits  by  Goya  are  not  of  special  interest.  In 
“Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras”  (pp.  i,  2,  145,  146)  I  speak  of 
some  of  these  works,  bringing  them  into  relation  with  the  creative 
production  of  the  artist. 

To  follow  by  the  study  of  documents  Goya  as  a  portrait 
painter  we  have  to  start  from  the  year  1783,  in  which  are  the  first 
important  works  of  this  nature.  But  before  so  doing  it  is  necessary 
to  know  the  surroundings  which  Goya  encountered  in  Spain  on 
his  return,  after  having  obtained  the  second  prize  at  Parma. 

Spanish  art,  properly  so  called,  which  had  shone  so  brilliantly 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  had  already  ceased  to  exist,  or  had  been 
banished  to  obscure  monasteries  and  churches  of  the  second  order, 
where  it  still  emitted  some  sparks  of  the  pure  flame.  After  the 
arrival  of  the  Bourbons,  the  direction  of  art,  the  great  commissions, 
and  even  instruction  in  the  fine  arts  had  been  handed  over  to 
foreigners.  Under  the  shadow  of  all  this  foreign  influence  some 
Spanish  painters,  especially  Francisco  Bayeu  (1734-1795),  José  del 
Gastello  (1737-1793),  Mariano  S.  Maella  (1739-1819),  and  Gregorio 
Ferro  (1742-1812),  represented  the  national  art  production,  which 
had  certainly  very  little  of  Spanish  life  in  it,  since  it  was  nothing 
more  than  the  development  of  Italian  mannerism  according  to  the 
latest  doctrines  put  forward  by  Amiconi  and  Corrado,  and  followed 
by  the  González,  Velázquez,  and  other  Spanish  painters.  These 
painters  understood  their  business  to  perfection,  drew  well,  were 
correct  in  their  composition,  succeeded  in  a  conventional  colouring 
through  the  recipes  learnt  in  the  art  schools,  which  naturally 


6 


I-RANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


were  always  the  same,  and  with  facile  rapidity  painted  pictures  and 
portraits,  and  filled  with  their  decorative  productions  church  walls 
and  cupolas,  niches  and  lunettes,  without  omitting  any  detail  or 
neglecting  the  required  finish;  but  in  all  this  they  achieved  only 
an  expressionless  art  from  which  they  had  no  wish  to  free  them¬ 
selves,  since  they  were  miserably  imprisoned  within  that  cold 
conventionalism. 

This  pictorial  production,  weighed  down  by  so  many  extrane¬ 
ous  and  decadent  conditions,  had  been  strengthened  a  little  before 
this,  and  was  at  that  time  under  the  guidance  of  a  most  famous 
artist  whom  Charles  III  had  called  to  his  court,  Antonio  Raphael 
Mengs — a  painter  and  critic  of  doubtful  nationality,  since  he  had 
been  born  in  Aussig  (Bohemia)  of  a  Danish  father,  had  studied  in 
Italy,  and  flourished  in  vSaxony.  Brought  up  on  the  classical 
theories  then  in  vogue,  and  closely  in  sympathy  with  Winckelman 
— who,  however,  was  far  his  superior  in  knowledge  of  the  antique 
and  depth  of  thought — Mengs  proposed  to  himself  to  banish  from 
painting  its  brilliancy  of  colour,  its  gaiety  and  boldness  of  concep¬ 
tion,  and  to  substitute  for  these  a  pseudo-classicism  in  which  the 
dominant  feature  should  be  a  style  of  lofty  nobility  and  a  drawing 
which  would  aim  at  the  simplicity  of  line  of  antique  art.  He  wrote 
freely,  and  always  from  that  point  of  view;  convinced  of  his  theories, 
he  carried  them  into  practice;  and  it  is  only  fair  to  recognize  that 
his  art  realized  them  with  a  marvellous  ability  and  skill,  with  the 
consequence  that  his  contemporaries  became  enthusiastic  over  his 
talent. 

Even  if  the  style  of  the  Spanish  painters  above  mentioned, 
and  of  others  whom  Mengs  encountered  on  his  arrival  at  Madrid, 
and  his  own,  which  was  so  individual,  were  not  the  same,  they 
both  possessed  points  of  agreement;  and  the  Bohemian  remained 
satisfied  with  the  Spaniards  who  followed  blindly  in  his  footsteps, 
overshadowed  by  this  intelligent  and  famous  man,  who  was  a 
thousand  times  less  conventional  than  themselves. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


7 


In  those  very  years  in  which  within  our  court,  and  in  the 
whole  of  Spain  and  in  almost  the  whole  of  Europe,  these  artistic 
conditions  prevailed,  Goya  arrived  from  Italy  and  settled  in 
Madrid— Goya,  the  least  pseudo-classic  painter  that  can  be  possibly 
imagined,  an  artist  of  spontaneous  genius  with  a  style  which  is 
always  sincere  and  sometimes  even  brutal,  carrying  yet  unborn 
a  whole  world  of  pictorial  revolution  within  his  head;  hitherto 
without  fame  or  name,  not  yet  in  any  position  to  take  a  lead, 
with  slender  resources  and  with  a  character  little  adapted  to 
compromise  or  accommodate  itself,  obstinate,  firm  in  his  convic¬ 
tions,  and,  as  we  are  told,  inclined  to  grumble  and  of  uncertain 
temper. 

It  was  impossible  for  him  to  come  into  line  with  his  surround¬ 
ings;  yet,  in  spite  of  this,  he  does  not  mark  himself  out  with  a 
totally  distinct  personality  from  the  general  art  production  of  the 
time.  This  was  reserved  for  later. 

We  ought  to  remember  at  the  same  time  that  none  of  his 
works  of  these  years  are  of  exceptional  merit;  Goya  appears  in 
them  as  showing  an  individual  temperament  as  a  painter  and 
nothing  more.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  was  an  artist  without  any 
precocity,  since  at  this  date,  which  is  approximately  the  year  1773, 
he  was  already  not  less  than  thirty  years  of  age.  Notwithstanding 
that  he  had  not  attained  at  that  time  either  position  or  renown 
with  his  works,  he  was  not  overlooked  among  other  painters  of  the 
period.  In  his  letters  to  his  friend  Zapater  he  complains  and 
occasionally  shows  himself  indignant  at  his  position,  but  at  the 
same  time  and  in  the  very  same  letters  he  confirms  what  we 
already  knew— that  he  had  commissions  in  Zaragoza,  that  he  had 
some  work  in  Madrid,  even  if  this  was  more  through  personal 
friendship  than  as  a  commission,  and  that  he  was  on  intimate 
terms  with  Francisco  Bayeu,  the  painter  of  Zaragoza,  who  was 
famous  at  the  court,  a  member  of  the  Academy,  etc. 

In  the  year  1775  Mengs,  who  decided  absolutely  the  progress 


8 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


of  art  at  the  court,  addressed  himself  to  Goya  in  company  with 
other  painters,  who  were  few  in  number  and  relatively  unknown, 
to  commission  from  them  cartoons  destined  to  serve  as  models  for 
the  royal  factory  of  tapestries,  already  some  time  previously  founded 
in  Madrid,  and  to  which  it  was  sought  to  give  a  fresh  startd  Our 
artist  took  the  work  in  hand,  and  in  the  following  year  delivered 
the  first  of  his  cartoons,  which  he  called  “  The  Picnic.”  Breaking 
away  from  all  tradition  and  routine  he  created  in  the  following  years 
as  many  as  forty-five  cartoons,  which  were  really  original  and 
attractive  pictures.  There  is  disclosed  in  them  a  method  of  inter¬ 
preting  Nature  very  different  from  the  mannerism  and  lack  of 
character  which  dominated  the  art  of  the  other  painters  of  his  time. 
The  tapestries  which  were  to  be  made  from  these  designs  were 
destined  for  the  royal  palaces  of  El  Pardo  and  Escorial,  where 
the  old-fashioned  decorations  and  furniture  had  gone  out  of  date  and 
required  complete  renovation  in  agreement  with  the  taste  of  the 
time.  The  success  of  Goya  on  this  occasion  consisted — more  than, 
and  sometimes  even  before,  the  novelty  of  his  style — in  his  choice 
of  subjects:  they  all  represent  scenes  of  popular  life  in  the  open 
air,  many  of  them  charming,  some  dramatic,  all  picturesque,  full  of 
life  and  meaning — and  the  people,  with  their  attractive  costumes  of 
)iiano/os,  majas,  and  chisperos,  enter  for  the  first  time  from  the  hand 
of  our  artist  as  a  decorative  element  into  those  palaces  of  Spain 
which  had  been  built  two  centuries  earlier  by  Charles  V  and 
Philip  II. 

With  the  first  of  these  cartoons,  with  his  sketches  of  bulls  and 
genre  pictures,  Goya  began  to  achieve  fame. 

In  1777  he  appears  as  already  married  to  Josefa  Bayeu,  sister 
of  Francisco  the  famous  painter,  and  as  father,  on  22  January,  of  a 
guapo  mnchacho  (a  fine  boy)  as  he  says  himself.  In  April  of  the 

'  This  can  be  seen  in  vol.  ii,  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  chap,  iii :  “  Cartoons 
for  Tapestries  painted  by  Goya  from  the  year  1776  to  1791.  An  examination  of  the 
technique  developed  by  the  artist  for  this  kind  of  painting.” 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


9 


same  year  he  says,  moreover,  always  in  his  letters  to  Zapater,  “he  was 
painting  with  more  public  appreciation  {pintaba  con  7nas  aceptación)” 

In  the  following  year  of  1778  something  occurred  which 
was  apparently  insignificant,  but  which  I  consider  of  the  greatest 
and  indeed  of  transcendent  interest,  not  only  for  the  intellectual 
development  of  Goya,  but  for  the  general  history  of  Spanish  paint¬ 
ing.  This  was  as  follows.  In  that  year  Goya,  already  connected 
with  Bayeu  and  a  painter  who  now  received  commissions  from 
the  all-powerful  Mengs,  was  employed  to  go  through  the  royal 
collections  of  paintings,  which  until  lately  had  been  scattered  in 
the  Buen  Retiro,  San  Lorenzo  del  Escorial,  San  Ildefonso,  Aran- 
juez,  the  Casa  de  Campo,  the  Quinta  del  Duque  del  Arco,  the 
Torre  de  la  Parada,  the  Casa  Palacio  de  las  Batuecas,  the  Castillo 
de  Vihuelas,  and  the  Zarzuela. 

Charles  III  had  just  given  orders,  which  were  immediately 
put  into  execution,  that  all  that  scattered  artistic  wealth  should  be 
installed  in  the  Palace  at  Madrid,  then  quite  new.  It  would  then 
become  quite  easy  to  visit  and  study  all  these  paintings.  There 
were  to  be  found  those  portraits  and  subject  paintings  of  Titian 
which  form  the  splendid  and  unique  collection  of  this  master 
which  we  now  possess,  accompanied  by  other  Italian  creations  of 
the  best  period;  there  were  the  primitive  paintings,  generally 
belonging  to  the  Flemish  School,  and  those  of  Rubens,  Van  Dyck, 
of  Dürer,  of  Holbein,  and  of  Murillo-— which  last  Queen  Isabel 
Farnese,  the  mother  of  Charles  III,  had  admired  so  much  in  her 
visit  to  Seville,  and  of  which  she  brought  back  to  her  palaces  a 
collection  composed  of  twenty-nine  very  choice  canvases — and 
here  we  must  not  forget  the  paintings  by  French  artists,  of  whom 
Philip  V  and  Ferdinand  VI,  as  was  only  natural,  were  enamoured. 
There,  in  a  word,  Goya  could  admire  all  the  pictorial  splendour 
now  known  through  the  world,  and  which  forms  the  greater  part 
of  the  Museo  del  Prado.  However — and  this  is  of  special  interest 
to  us — among  such  a  wealth  of  production  of  different  schools  and 


lO 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


such  mighty  masters,  Goya  fixed  his  attention  especially  upon  the 
works  of  a  painter  then  almost  forgotten,  and  who  naturally  did 
not  meet  the  favour  of  Mengs,^  nor  probably  of  anyone  else.  These 
were  the  creations  of  one  who  was  Chamberlain  of  the  Royal 
Palaces  in  the  time  of  Philip  IV,  and  who  dedicated  himself  to 
painting  in  the  spare  moments  left  free  by  his  official  duties  in  the 
palace,  and  who  was  called  Diego  Velazquez. 

What  was  there  which  Goya  found  in  those  works  that  called 
for  such  special  attention  that  they  were  the  only  ones  which  he 
copied,  himself  making  from  them  a  series  of  engravings?  Some¬ 
thing  surely  there  was  which  he  had  not  found  in  Zaragoza,  nor 
yet  in  Rome,  nor  yet  in  Madrid,  up  to  that  day.  Something  that 
spoke  to  him  in  clear  accents  in  a  language  which  his  own  educa¬ 
tion  did  not  place  at  his  command,  but  which  he  knew  by  intuition 
to  be  his  own,  and  the  only  one  by  which  he  could  succeed  in 
giving  expression  to  the  art  which  was  moving  and  stirring  within 
his  brain.  The  works  of  Velazquez — which  reach  the  highest  point 
of  the  whole  Spanish  School  of  the  seventeenth  century,  models 
of  synthetic  art,  of  astonishing  simplicity  in  their  technique, 
fragments  of  sublime  painting  which  beneath  an  apparently  modest 
craftsmanship  are  none  the  less  magic  works,  which  seem  to  be 
spontaneously  created,  without  in  any  part  revealing  either  effort, 
weakness,  or  fatigue — after  a  century  of  neglect,  found  their 
re-birth  in  the  mind  of  another  Spanish  genius,  capable  of  grasping 
their  merit,  and  the  only  man  of  his  time  ^\’ho  was  worthy  to 
continue  their  tradition. 

^  Mengs,  in  speaking  of  the  old  Spanish  painters,  treated  them  with  that  deference 
which  his  high  position  in  Spain  made  obligatory;  nevertheless  it  is  quite  clear  that 
the  Spanish  art  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  not  to  his  taste.  Speaking  of  the 
painters  of  Seville  he  said  that  they  had  not  seen  or  studied  the  examples  of  the 
ancient  Greeks,  nor  had  any  comprehension  of  beauty,  and  thus  were  simply  imitators 
of  Nature  without  knowing  how  to  select  the  beauty  which  it  contained.  Speaking  of 
Velazquez,  he  recognized  his  superiorit}-  to  the  others  in  his  understanding  of  light 
and  shade  and  in  his  aerial  perspective. 


DON  VENTURA  RODRIGUEZ 


Plate  III 


(p.  28) 


1 

Í 


I 


,i 

■ii 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


1 1 

The  chain,  which  seemed  to  be  broken  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  was  once  again  united;  and  purely  Spanish 
creation  once  more  pursued  its  course  through  time,  expressing 
all  that  the  race  had  to  say  in  its  plastic  manifestation  of  line  and 
colour. 

These  national  productions,  which  when  united  together  form 
what  may  be  called  a  School,  have  their  own  characteristics,  their 
own  essential  and  determinate  nature  which  in  some  cases  meta¬ 
physical  study  can  succeed  in  penetrating  and  bringing  to  our 
view;  but  they  possess  at  the  same  time  an  external  manifestation, 
a  final  expression,  a  style,  an  idiom,  which  I  would  dare  to  call 
their  own,  individual  to  themselves  and  to  our  nation,  and  which 
at  the  same  time  unites  them  and  brings  them  into  relation  with 
one  another.  And  this  style  in  art  is  as  fundamental  as  the  spirit 
which  determines  the  creation;  all,  or  if  not  all  many  of  us,  are 
capable  of  creating  in  mente  great  works;  but  only  the  chosen 
artists  create  them,  not  because  they  were  the  only  ones  who  had 
the  idea,  but  because  they  were  the  only  ones  who  could  give  it 
expression. 

The  characteristic  note  of  this  expression,  not  of  the  idea  nor 
of  the  essence  but  of  the  form,  is  that  which  the  critic  ought  to 
keep  in  view  as  his  first  criterion  to  differentiate  the  works  of  one 
school  from  another,  and  even  different  works  within  the  same 
school,  so  as  to  distinguish  the  unique  and  individual  work  of  an 
artist  from  those  others  which,  in  spite  of  their  authors,  are  only 
the  reflection  of  the  masters  who  inspired  them.  The  creative 
idea,  the  spirit  which  animates  each  of  these  works,  was,  it  is  true, 
different  and  distinct  according  to  the  time  of  its  creation,  though 
still  included  within  the  limits  of  the  same  race;  but  to  succeed  in 
expression  its  form  was  always  similar,  its  idiom  the  same.  The 
creative  ideals  of  our  classic  theatre,  of  our  picaresque  fiction,  or  of 
our  romantic  poetry,  were  in  themselves  distinct;  but  to  arrive  at 
their  special  expression  all  their  authors  had  recourse  to  the  same 


12  FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 

form,  and  the  laws  of  the  Castilian  idiom  were  their  expressive 
element. 

In  painting  there  is  something  analogous  to  this:  there  is  a 
technique,  a  special  language,  which  determines  the  typical  pro¬ 
ductions  of  each  race.  If  we  come  across  by  chance  in  a  museum, 
where  there  are  examples  of  all  the  schools,  a  portrait  by  Velazquez, 
an  ascetic  figure  by  Ribera,  a  decaying  corpse  by  Valdés  Leal,  or  a 
maja  by  Goya,  these  works  may  not  resemble  each  other,  nay, 
more  than  this,  they  most  assuredly  will  not  be  alike;  for  each  of 
them  belongs  to  its  epoch,  owns  its  own  creative  spirit,  and 
])0ssesses  its  distinct  aesthetic  basis;  yet  in  spite  of  all  this  we 
shall  immediately  distinguish  them  from  works  of  other  schools, 
because  the  works  of  these  painters,  however  various  and  opposite 
they  may  appear  to  us,  all  possess  a  diction,  a  similar  ultimate 
expression — are  all  Spanish  paintings. 

And  precisely  this  ultimate  expression,  this  voice  in  art,  which 
Goya  scarcely  knew  and  yet  needed  in  order  to  express  himself, 
was  what  he  found  and  learnt  within  those  canvases  of  Velazquez 
— the  synthesis  of  purely  Spanish  creation,  canvases  then  almost 
underrated,  which  he  had  to  hunt  out  in  order  to  copy  them 
in  corridors  and  in  dim  unfrequented  corners  of  the  new  Palace 
of  Madrid. 

As  we  have  stated,  and  as  is  known,  Goya  had  engraved 
several  of  these  works  of  Velazquez.  These  engravings  are  works 
of  a  light  character,  as  if  they  were  intended  rather  for  reminders 
than  for  serious  study;  and  they  have  been  the  object  of  severe 
criticism.  I  consider  that  these  have  been  only  done  in  order  to 
get  hold  of  the  technique  of  engraving,  in  order  “to  get  his  hand 
in,”  as  is  commonly  said.  But  whether  good  or  mediocre,  the 
special  interest  and  significance  these  engravings  possess  for  us  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  models  selected  were  the  canvases  of  Velazquez, 
and  not  those  of  others  who  were  more  famous  at  that  time.^ 

‘  Vol.  iii,  “Goya  Grabador”  may  be  here  referred  to.  Eleven  engravings  of  the 
pictures  of  Velazquez,  pp.  7-20 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


13 

In  a  letter  to  Zapater  dated  in  December  of  that  year,  1778, 
Goya  remarks  in  speaking  of  these  engravings: 

“  Dear  Martin, 

“  By  Antonio  Ibanez  I  send  you  a  set  of  the  works  of 
Belazquez  which  I  have  engraved  and  which  as  you  know  are 
in  the  King’s  possession;  I  have  not  sent  them  to  you  before  so 
that  it  should  not  be  known  that  I  have  had  a  thousand  worries 
over  them,  so  then,  my  boy,  treasure  them,  for  as  they  come  out  I 
will  send  them  along  to  you.  Sabatini  pounced  upon  some  fine 
sketches  which  I  had  and  as  I  had  already  promised  them  and 
there  was  no  escape  I  was  left  stranded  without  them.  The  one  I 
have  about  the  ball  if  you  Avish  for  it  you  could  put  it  in  some 
little  corner  for  as  it  was  useless  it  was  left  .  .  .  now  go  to  the 
Devil  for  you  make  me  talk  more  than  it  is  worth. 

“  Yours  and  yours  yet  again 
“  Goya.” 

In  1779  he  had  for  the  first  time  a  chance  of  being  presented 
to  the  royal  family;  and  in  a  letter  dated  9  January^  with  great 
satisfaction  and  Aragonese  pride  he  says  as  follows: 

“  Dear  Martin, 

‘T  could  not  respond  to  what  you  asked  because  I  had  no 
time.  The  little  rough  sketch  which  you  have  is  the  invention  of 
Francesco  (Bayeu)  and  my  execution  and  the  whole  is  worth  three 
caracoles,  and  is  not  worth  considering  whether  it  is  yours  or  mine, 
it  is  not  worth  a  button. 

“  If  I  had  more  leisure  I  would  tell  you  how  the  King  and  Prince 
and  Princess  honoured  me  who  by  the  grace  of  God  allowed  me  to 
show  them  the  four  paintings,  and  I  kissed  their  hands  which 

*  This  letter,  which  is  to-day  preserved  in  Paris,  Zapater  publishes  in  fragments; 
I  have  been  able  to  secure  a  complete  copy.  This  copy  gives  instead  of  1779  the  date 
of  1773-  I  consider  this  difference  as  a  mistake  in  writing  the  numerals.  I  believe  that 
Zapater  was  right,  and  that  the  letter  dates  from  1779;  as,  however,  the  original  has 
never  been  in  my  hands  I  cannot  verify  this  last  statement  with  accuracy. 


u 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


before  I  never  had  the  fortune  to  do,  and  I  tell  you  that  I  could 
not  have  wished  them  to  appreciate  my  works  more  than  they  did, 
judging  from  the  pleasure  they  had  in  looking  at  them,  and  the 
satisfaction  which  I  obtained  with  the  King  and  even  more  with 
their  Highnesses  and  afterwards  with  all  the  Grandees,  thanks  to 
God,  for  neither  I  nor  my  work  deserved  what  I  obtained.  But,  my 
boy,  luck  and  long  life  to  you,  no  one  will  take  this  sentiment  from 
me  and  even  more  now  that  I  am  beginning  to  have  greater  enemies 
and  more  bitter  ones. 

“Good-bye.  Yours  always, 

“Goya." 

He  was  already  beginning  to  make  enemies,  because  he  was 
beginning  to  find  favour  and  a  certain  name,  and  because  the  mere 
fact  of  his  having  been  received  by  the  royal  family  was  sufficient 
to  give  him  a  certain  position.  However,  at  the  right  moment 
Bayeu  and  other  painters  came  to  his  aid,  as  is  proved  by  his  having 
been  made  a  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando  in 
the  year  following,  on  7  May  1780. 

In  1781  he  takes  part  in  an  important  competition  and  says  so 
to  Zapater,  writing  to  him  in  Zaragoza  with  the  date  of  25  July  of 
this  year: 

“  Friend,  the  time  has  come  for  the  greatest  opportunity  in 
|)ainting  which  has  ever  been  offered  in  Madrid,  and  that  is,  that 
H  is  Majesty  has  decided  on  a  competition  for  painting  for  the 
Church  of  San  b'rancisco  el  Grande  of  this  Court,  and  has  vouch¬ 
safed  to  name  me  whose  letter  the  Minister  has  to-day  sent  to 
Goicoechea  so  that  he  should  show  it  to  those  vile  wretches  who 
have  had  so  little  confidence  in  my  merit,  and  you  must  also  tell  it 
wherever  it  will  make  most  impression,  for  there  is  a  reason  for  it, 
since  the  great  Bayeu  is  also  making  his  picture.  Maella  is  also 
painting  his  and  the  rest  of  the  Court  painters  are  doing  likewise; 
in  short,  this  is  a  serious  competition,  for  it  seems  to  me  that  God 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


15 


has  remembered  me,  and  I  have  hopes  that  everything  will  have  a 
happy  issue  after  the  works  have  been  finished.  The  size  of  the 
painting  is  nine  Spanish  yards  high  and  half  of  that  in  width,  it  is 
life  size.  As  you  are  so  interested  for  my  welfare  you  will  know 
what  use  to  make  of  this  piece  of  news,  and  what  most  telling  blows 
you  can  give.” 

This  and  other  work  occupied  Goya  until  the  year  1783.  In 
his  letters  to  Zapater  of  this  period  the  following  words  appear: 

“  I  have  to  inform  you  the  news  about  the  painting  without 
keeping  anything  back  although  it  might  be  against  me,  for  once 
we  understand  each  other  we  will  hold  our  tongues  about  what  is 
to  be  understood.” 

And  yet  further  on : 

“  The  time  of  the  thrushes  has  come,  so  that  if  it  were  not  for 
the  painting  of  San  Francisco  I  should  take  no  count  of  such  things.” 

In  January  1783  the  pictures  by  the  artists  selected  for  the 
above-mentioned  competition  were  placed  together  in  the  Church  of 
San  Francisco  el  Grande,  awaiting  the  day  for  the  court  to  come 
and  see  them,  and  “  till  then,”  says  Goya,  “  my  horse  is  not 
running.” 

In  this  eventful  year  1783,  as  we  shall  see  later,  our  artist 
commences  his  new  and  important  phase  of  a  portrait  painter. 
He  was  then  only  a  few  months  short  of  thirty-seven  years  of  age; 
and  this  man,  who  was  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  portraitists 
of  the  world,  had  not,  up  to  that  date,  made  a  single  striking 
portrait,  nor  one  in  which  appeared  those  individual  qualities 
which  he  was  to  show  later. 

His  productions  in  this  respect  had  been  limited  to  a  few  and 
almost  insignificant  works.  Let  us  mention  some  of  them  and  take 
first  that  self-portrait  of  the  artist,  in  which  he  presents  himself 
to  us  almost  full  face  and  with  the  appearance  of  some  thirty 


i6 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


years  of  age  (Plate  I).  Three  examples  are  known  of  this  head, 
which  must  have  been  done  in  Zaragoza,  since  they  all  come  from 
there.  I  only  know  one  of  them,  which  belonged  to  the  distinguished 
landscape  painter,  D.  Carlos  de  Haes,  and  then  went  to  Munich 
(Bhoeler  Gallery).  Conde  de  la  Viñaza  says  that  it  came  from  the 
Casino  Principal  of  Zaragoza.  This  work,  strongly  painted  and 
with  dark  tones  dominating  throughout,  has  in  every  way  more 
interest  as  a  likeness  than  a  work  of  art.  We  appreciate  in  that 
head,  and  in  the  expression  of  its  eyes  and  of  the  mouth,  all  the 
tension  and  force  of  will  which  were  to  have  such  brilliant  results 
later  on.  The  other  two  examples  are  mentioned  as  having  been, 
one  in  the  gallery  of  Doña  Maria  Cristina  (?),  the  other  in  that  of 
D.  Mariano  di  Ena  y  Villalba,  who  had  been  director  of  the 
Institute  of  Zaragoza. 

Another  self-portrait,  which  is  to-day  in  the  Provincial  Museum 
of  Zaragoza,  comes  from  the  School  of  Fine  Arts  of  San  Luis  in 
the  same  city. 

The  authors  of  the  legends  of  the  youth  of  Goya  relate  that  in 
Rome  his  boldness  was  such  that  w  ithout  a  diploma  or  previous 
introduction  he  presented  himself  to  Pope  Benedict  XIV,  and  that, 
whether  or  no,  he  made  a  portrait  of  this  Pope  which  was  the 
immediate  astonishment  of  the  Vatican.  This  could  not  be  so, 
since  Benedict  XIV  died  in  1758,  long  before  Goya  arrived  in  Rome; 
but  even  supposing  there  had  been  a  mistake  in  the  name  of  the 
Pope,  and  that  this  had  been  Clement  XIV,  who  ruled  over  the 
Church  from  1769  to  1774,  a  story  of  this  kind  does  not  appear 
probable  or  even  possible.  No  one  knows  to-day  of  this  work,  nor 
in  the  Vatican  itself  is  there  any  notice  of  such  an  event.  Von  Loga 
has  made  some  researches  on  this  subject,  and  came  to  the  con¬ 
clusion,  like  all  others  who  have  thought  seriously  about  the  matter, 
that  Goya  never  made  a  portrait  of  the  Pope  in  those  years. 

To  this  period  would  be  also  attributed,  to  judge  by  the  age 
of  the  sitter,  the  portraits  which  Goya  made  of  King  Charles  III. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


17 


However,  on  this  point  I  have  my  own  opinion,  which  I  believe  to 
be  well  founded,  and  which  is  that  our  painter  never  made  a  portrait 
of  this  king  before  his  death,  taken  actually  from  life.  As  I  have 
mentioned,  Goya  was  received  for  the  first  time  by  the  king  in  the 
year  1779.  The  years  which  intervened  between  this  event  and  the 
death  of  the  monarch  are  perfectly  well  known  to  us  through  the 
correspondence  which  Zapater  kept;  in  this  correspondence  every¬ 
thing  is  mentioned,  including  all  the  works,  many  of  these  insignifi¬ 
cant,  which  occupied  the  painter’s  activities,  and  there  is  at  no 
time  any  mention  of  a  subject  of  such  striking  nature  as  would  have 
been  the  portrait  of  the  king.  Of  the  different  canvases  attributed 
to  Goya  in  which  Charles  III  is  represented  there  are  some  of 
indisputable  authenticity,  two  of  these  especially.  One  is  in  the 
Banco  de  España,  in  which  the  monarch  is  represented  in  court 
dress;  and  the  other  in  the  house  of  the  Duchess  of  Fernán  Nüñez, 
identical  in  its  appearance  with  that  of  the  museum,  which  I 
mention  in  this  connection,  although  it  is  far  superior  as  a  work  of 
art,  in  which  the  king  is  depicted  as  a  sportsman  in  hunting  costume 
and  with  a  dog  asleep  at  his  feet,  his  figure  detaching  itself  against 
a  delicate  landscape  bathed  in  light,  and  with  colour  of  blue  and 
rose,  which  recalls  the  best  backgrounds  of  the  cartoons  for  the 
tapestries  which  Goya  had  designed  certainly  in  the  same  years. 
In  the  general  treatment  of  this  work  there  seems  to  obtrude 
the  recollection  of  those  portraits  of  persons  dressed  in  hunting 
costume  which  had  been  painted  by  Velazquez.  That  in  the  museum 
I  consider  only  as  a  copy  or  perhaps  a  repetition  of  that  of  the  ducal 
house  of  Fernán  Nüñez;  and  I  even  know  of  a  second  replica  of 
this  work,  likewise  in  Madrid. 

In  these  portraits,  as  in  that  of  the  Banco  de  España,  everything 
— the  hands,  the  dress,  the  background — is  stronger  than  the  head. 
This  last,  equally  seen  and  related  with  all  the  rest,  with  the  tanned 
and  weather-beaten  skin  which  is  appropriate  to  the  huntsman  who 
constantly  spends  his  time  in  the  open  air,  indicates  to  us,  from  the 

D 


i8 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTF:S 


fact  that  it  is  weaker  than  the  rest  of  the  picture  and  identical  in 
all  the  portraits,  that  it  is  nothing  but  a  copy  of  another  work,  and 
probably  of  one  of  a  different  painter.  Through  documents  which 
are  preserved  in  the  Bank  of  Spain  we  know  that  the  portrait  which 
is  kept  there  coincides  in  date  with  that  of  the  death  of  the  king; 
and  since  we  have  reason  to  think  that  both  these  are  of  the  same 
period,  namely,  of  the  first  years  of  the  reign  of  Charles  IV,  we  can 
establish  the  fact  that  they  were  done  on  the  death  of  the  king, 
and  this  brings  them  into  their  just  relation  technically  with  those 
other  works  of  which  we  shall  speak  in  the  following  chapter. 

A  pair  of  portraits,  curious  and  of  a  certain  charm,  in  which 
are  represented  respectively  the  Prince  of  Asturias,  D.  Carlos 
(afterwards  Charles  1\^)  and  his  wife,  Maria  Louisa  of  Parma — very 
young  and  probably  then  recently  married,  since  he  appears  about 
twenty-seven  years  of  age  and  she  twenty-one,  which  was  their 
age  in  1775  when  their  marriage  was  celebrated — offer  an  in¬ 
teresting  problem  of  painting  both  as  a  study  in  themselves  and 
differentiating  them  from  the  work  of  other  painters  of  the  time. 
Of  this  pair  of  portraits,  which  are  upright  figures  of  three-quarter 
length,  the  prince  with  a  red  coat,  resting  his  left  hand  on  a  table, 
the  princess  with  a  rich  dress  of  silk  and  some  flowers  in  her  right 
hand  which  she  is  about  to  place  in  a  vase,  I  know  three  almost 
identical  examples;  one  the  property  of  D.  Luis  Navas  (Madrid), 
another  in  the  Bank  of  Spain,  the  third  in  the  Museum  of  Bilbao. 
The  names  of  Mengs,  of  Maella,  and  even  of  Goya  come  into  one’s 
mind  on  seeing  these  portraits — above  all  that  of  Goya,  especially 
in  the  first  of  those  mentioned. 

Notwithstanding  this,  and  following  analogous  reasoning  to 
that  which  we  have  employed  in  respect  of  the  portraits  of 
Charles  III,  it  must  be  recognized  that  these  works  cannot  be 
by  Goya,  or  at  any  rate  cannot  be  considered  as  painted  by  him  from 
life.  In  1775,  or  very  little  later,  a  date  which  may  be  judged  by 
the  age  of  the  persons  painted,  Goya  had  not  made  portraits  of  the 


SELF-PORTRAIT  OF  GOYA 


Plate  IV 


(p.  29) 


'  I 

i  v 


■i 

‘■‘.I 


'Í: 


1l 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


19 


court,  and  much  less  of  personages  so  important  as  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Asturias.  These  portraits  must  be  by  Mengs,  especially 
from  their  composition;  not,  however,  those  just  mentioned,  as  we 
may  judge  from  their  technique,  but  some  earlier  ones  which  I  do 
not  know.  By  their  date  he  may  have  painted  them  in  his  first  stay 
in  Madrid;  and  from  these  originals  by  Mengs  other  Spanish 
painters  could  perfectly  well  have  made  copies  of  persons  who  were 
so  much  before  the  public,  and  who  would  be  so  much  sought  after. 
Those  of  the  Bank  of  Spain — which  are  the  weakest  of  the  three 
pairs  above  mentioned — are  by  Maella,  according  to  documents 
which  have  been  preserved  in  the  bank  itself.  Goya  could  quite  well 
have  received  commissions  for  other  copies,  and  these  might  be 
those  of  Señor  Navas,  which  suggest  themselves  as  such,  and  even 
those  of  the  Museum  of  Bilbao. 

From  all  the  above  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  Goya, 
although  known  already  for  other  kinds  of  painting,  had  not  yet 
an  individual  style  in  portraiture.  And  such  was  indeed  the  case; 
whether  from  want  of  practice  or  perhaps  in  order  not  to  displease 
persons  accustomed  to  the  portraits  by  Mengs  which  were  so 
much  in  favour,  the  Spanish  painters  of  those  years  did  not  dare 
to  break  away  from  the  established  and  approved  tradition. 

I  do  not  speak  here  of  certain  portraits  prior  to  1783,  which 
have  been  attributed  to  Goya,  since  I  consider  these,  quite  apart 
from  their  merit,  of  doubtful  authenticity. 

How  and  when  our  painter  was  to  develop  the  other  side  of 
his  genius,  and  to  individualize  his  productions  in  the  art  of  por¬ 
traiture,  will  be  the  subject  of  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  II 


From  1783  to  1789 


HE  year  1783  is  the  first  date  in  which  we  can  document¬ 


arily  bring  into  line  portraits  of  importance  executed  by 


^  Goya.  These  are  of  Floridablanca  and  the  group  of  the 
family  of  the  Infante  D.  Luis. 

D.  Jose  Moñino,  Count  of  Floridablanca,  was  to  be  found  at 
that  date  in  all  the  height  of  his  power  as  Minister  of  Charles  HI. 
Goya  succeeded  in  approaching  him,  and  the  politician  showed  he 
was  favourably  inclined  to  the  artist,  for  this  last  (we  still  follow 
closely  the  letters  directed  to  Zapater)  tells  his  friend  under  the 
date  of  22  January  of  the  above  mentioned  year: 

“  Although  Count  Florida  Blanca  has  charged  me  to  say 
nothing  about  it,  my  wife  knows  it  and  I  wish  you  to  know  it, 
which  is  that  I  am  to  paint  his  portrait  which  will  be  of  great 
advantage  to  me;  I  owe  so  much  to  this  gentleman  that  this  after¬ 
noon  I  have  been  with  his  Señora  for  two  hours  after  her  dinner, 
for  she  has  come  in  to  dine  in  Madrid,”  etc. 

And  in  his  letter  of  a  few  days  later  he  says: 

“To-day  I  have  put  in  the  head  of  the  portrait  for  Señor 
Moñino  in  his  presence  and  have  succeeded  in  getting  a  good  like¬ 
ness  and  he  is  very  pleased,  I  will  write  you  another  time  how 
things  are  going.” 

This  shows  us  that  in  this,  as  in  other  works  in  which  he  was 
reproducing  persons  of  importance,  Goya  made  use  of  studies  of 
the  head  taken  from  life,  and  then  passed  on  to  the  finished  canvas. 


20 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


21 


I  do  not  know  the  study  to  which  this  letter  refers.  With  regard 
to  the  finished  portrait,  that  is  to-day  preserved  in  the  hands  of  the 
Dowager  Marquesa  de  Martorell,  whose  family  are  descendants 
of  the  Minister  of  Charles  III  (Plate  2). 

The  first  impression  which  this  portrait  produces  is  that  we 
are  in  front  of  a  work  inspired  by  the  art  of  Mengs.  Later,  how¬ 
ever,  when  we  have  examined  it  with  attention,  we  see  something 
singular  in  it;  these  are  no  more  than  details,  but  even  so  they  are 
sufficient  to  show  that  their  author  is  a  great  colourist;  the  blue 
eyes  of  the  person  depicted,  who  looks  out  of  them  with  vivacity 
and  intelligence,  and  the  coat  and  red  breeches  are  strong  notes 
which  Mengs  would  not  have  approved.  In  the  centre  of  the  com¬ 
position  (for  it  is  almost  more  a  subject  picture  than  a  portrait)  we 
see  Floridablanca  standing  upright  facing  us ;  Goya,  on  the  left,  is 
presenting  to  the  Minister  a  canvas;  a  third  person  in  the  back¬ 
ground,  a  portrait  of  Charles  III  hung  upon  the  wall,  and  plans  of 
the  Canal  of  Aragon,  books,  papers,  and  scattered  letters,  complete 
the  composition  of  this  work.  On  the  floor  in  the  front  of  the 
picture  there  lies  a  book  on  whose  cover  may  be  read :  “Palomino- 
Practica  de  la  Pintura— 2  y  3.”  In  the  lower  portion  of  a  plan  which 
lies  upon  the  table  are  the  words:  “A1  Excmo.  Sr.  Florida  Blanca. 
Ano  1783”;  and  on  a  paper  at  Goya’s  feet:  “Señor  F.co  Goya.” 
The  illumination  of  the  scene  is  not  well  thought  out;  the  figure 
of  Floridablanca  being  illuminated  in  the  form  in  which  it  appears, 
with  an  intense  light  from  the  left,  that  of  Goya  could  not 
remain  in  the  shadow  as  it  is  here.  The  artist  has  obviously  dis¬ 
regarded  everything  in  order  to  give  lustre  to  the  figure  of  the 
Minister.  The  head  of  the  painter  detaches  itself  against  a  luminous 
plane  on  the  left  of  a  curtain ;  this  likewise  is  inexplicable,  for  if 
this  were  a  window  it  would  illuminate  the  scene  in  a  different 
manner. 

This  work  serves  as  a  type  for  other  works  of  lesser  importance, 
all  of  them  portraits  of  the  famous  Minister;  and  in  which  his 


22 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


figure  is  represented  in  some  in  full  length,  in  others  three-quarter 
length,  always  alone,  and  not  forming  a  composition  as  in  the 
picture  just  mentioned.  One  of  these  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
Marqués  de  Casa  Torres  at  Madrid,  another  is  preserved  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Madrid,  where  it  remained  as  an  anonymous  work 
until  two  distinguished  Spanish  artists,  who  were  paying  a  visit 
to  the  Cathedral  buildings,  identified  it  in  the  year  1906.  This 
portrait  of  great  distinction,  and  perhaps  later  by  some  years  than 
the  large  one,  was  made  known  in  an  article  by  D.  Jóse  R.  Mélida. 

Of  the  same  type,  even  if  it  is  not  of  the  same  size,  may  be 
here  recalled  that  other  portrait  in  small  dimensions  which  belongs 
to  the  Gallery  Stchoukine  (Paris),  and  which  has  been  brought 
before  the  public  by  the  German  critic.  Von  Loga,  in  his  book  upon 
Goya.  I  myself  know  of  some  other  portraits  attributed  to  our 
artist  of  similar  technique  and  appearance  to  the  great  portrait  of 
Floridablanca,  although  of  much  less  importance.  Typical  of  these 
is  that  which  represents  I).  Miguel  Muzquiz  (Conde  de  Gausa),  a 
famous  financier  who  succeeded  to  the  estate  of  Esquilache  in  the 
year  1768. 

There  are  two  examples  of  this  portrait,  one  of  full  length  in 
the  collection  of  the  Marqués  de  Casa  Torres  and  the  other,  three- 
quarter  length,  in  the  collection  of  D.  José  Lázaro.  The  figure 
appears  the  same  in  both,  and  it  is  natural  to  assign  to  it  the  date 
of  1785,  or  a  little  earlier,  through  its  being  the  same  as  the  one 
reproduced  on  the  front  of  the  publication,  “  Elogio  del  Conde  de 
Gausa,”  issued  by  Cabarrus  precisely  in  that  year. 

In  the  Bank  of  Spain  is  preserved  a  series  of  six  portraits  by 
Goya  which  form  a  combination  of  great  interest  through  their 
unquestionable  authenticity — having  a  documented  story  which  en¬ 
ables  us  not  only  to  know  the  date  of  each  but  even  the  price  for 
which  they  were  commissioned.  They  came  from  the  National 
Bank  of  San  Carlos,  organized  by  the  initiative  of  Floridablanca 
in  the  year  of  1782;  and  represent,  one  the  portrait,  already  men- 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


23 

tioned,  devoted  to  King  Charles  III,  and  the  other  five  the 
directors  of  that  bank. 

The  oldest  of  these  last  was  painted  in  1785.  It  represents 
D.  José  de  Toro  y  Zambrano,  the  delegate  of  the  nobility  of  the 
kingdom  of  Chili,  painted  half  length,  the  sitter  appearing  in  a 
crimson  coat.  The  head  is  refined  and  expressive,  and  in  it  can  be 
traced  the  advance  the  painter  had  already  made  by  aiming  at 
keeping  the  middle  tints  and  details  in  shadow;  but  more  delicately 
here  and  less  hard  than  those  which  he  made  use  of  two  years 
before  in  the  portrait  of  Floridablanca  and  in  others  of  that  period. 
A  cross  of  Charles  III  worn  on  the  breast  of  this  sitter  gives  an 
unharmonious  note  which  spoils  the  whole  effect.  But  the  ex¬ 
planation  of  this  seems  an  easy  one.  D.  José  de  Toro  was  not 
decorated  in  1785;  afterwards,  when  he  received  this  decoration,  a 
less  skilful  artist  painted  over  his  breast  the  cross  hanging  from 
its  ribbon  of  blue  and  white,  and  destroying  in  some  part  the  happy 
harmony  which  Goya  had  created.  This  portrait  costs  the  sum  of 
2,328  reales,  including  in  this  price  the  frame  and  its  gilding. 

Two  years  after  1787,  three  other  portraits  came  into  this 
series.  One  is  of  the  Marqués  de  Tolosa,  similar  to  the  last  men¬ 
tioned  in  character  and  proportions,  but  less  refined  in  its  execution; 
the  second  is  that  of  the  Conde  de  Altamira,  painted  in  full  length  and 
seated,  the  legs  treated  carelessly  and  in  an  indifferent  manner, 
this  portrait,  judged  by  its  size  and  importance,  being  the  least 
artistic  of  the  series.  The  third  represents  Charles  III  standing,  full 
length,  his  figure  detached  against  a  background  rich  in  details. 
This  last  is  a  typical  portrait,  strong,  effective  in  colouring,  but, 
notwithstanding  this,  containing  something  which  disconcerts  us 
and  takes  away  from  its  suggestive  power.  The  head  here  is  hard, 
and  harmonizes  badly  with  the  rest  of  the  figure;  it  has  not  been 
taken  from  life,  and,  as  it  appears  that  its  date  coincides  exactly 
with  that  of  the  death  of  the  king,  we  see  here  another  proof 
in  support  of  the  statement,  made  already  by  us  in  the  preceding 


24 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


chapter  when  we  came  to  mention  this  portrait,  that  all  those  of 
Charles  III  attributed  to  Goya  were  not  taken  from  life.  For 
these  three  portraits  the  bank  paid  the  artist  10,000  reales. 

To  this  same  year  1787  belongs  another  portrait  which  I 
mention  by  itself  because  it  appears  in  another  group;  this  is  that 
of  D.  Francisco  Larrumbe,  painted  full  length  and  in  very  advanced 
years.  Its  cost  was  2,200  reales.  The  series  terminates  with  a 
portrait  of  full  length,  the  most  important  of  all,  made  in  the  year 
1788,  and  for  which  4,500  reales  was  paid  down.  It  represents  the 
Conde  de  Cabarrús,  a  person  of  French  e.xtraction,  who  was  much 
talked  of  in  his  time,  a  schemer  according  to  some,  according  to 
others  a  great  man  of  aftairs,  who  was  severely  handled  in  a 
pamphlet  by  Mirabeau.  In  this  work  Cabarriis  wears  a  coat  and 
breeches  of  bright  green  colour;  already  here  we  begin  to  recognize 
Goya  as  a  colourist  and  an  original  artist,  and  we  can  follow  the 
development  of  his  personality  in  these  short  five  years  which 
separate  the  portrait  of  Floridablanca  from  that  of  Cabarriis.  The 
painter  reveals  himself  in  his  ¡)ortrait  of  this  person.  In  another 
attitude,  seated,  dressed  in  black  and  outlined  against  the  green 
armchair  on  which  he  is  sitting,  forming  a  bold  harmony  of  colour, 
there  e.xists  another  work  which  some  years  ago  gave  me  an 
excellent  impression.  I  am  ignorant  of  its  present  possessor. 

It  would  seem  tliat  the  commission  given  by  the  Banca 
Nacional  de  San  Carlos  to  Goya  had  been  suggested,  or  at  least 
supported,  by  D.  Juan  Agustin  Cean  Bermiidez,  the  well-known 
writer  on  Spanish  art  in  those  years,  author  of  the  “  Diccionario 
Histórico  de  los  más  ilustres  profesores  de  las  Bellas  Artes  en 
España,”  a  work  to  which  we  have  so  often  referred  when  treating 
of  art  matters  in  Spain.  Cean  Bermiidez,  besides  being  a  writer  on 
art,  was  well  informed  on  economic  subjects,  and  from  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  Banca  de  San  Carlos  in  1782  he  held  in  that  institution 
the  post  of  Chief  Clerk  in  the  Secretary’s  office.  A  friend  of  Goya, 
Ceán  Bermiidez  also  advised  the  painter  in  the  placing  of  his 


UNKNOWN  YOUTH 


Plate  V 


(P-  35) 


1 


1‘ 


\ 


I 


a 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


25 


modest  savings  in  the  same  bank.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Banco 
de  España  still  keeps^  fifteen  shares  of  stock  to  which  the  painter 
subscribed.  Two  of  these  shares  were  endorsed  by  Goya  in  favour 
of  Doña  Maria  Olarte,  six  to  D.  José  de  Onís,  and  the  other  seven 
to  D.  Fermín  de  Almarza.  The  endorsements  bear  the  date  of 
20  November  and  22  December  1788. 

I  believe  that  the  portrait  which  is  thought  to  be  of  Ceán 
Bermiidez,  and  which  figured  in  the  exhibition  of  the  works  of 
Goya  (1900)  belonging  to  the  Marqués  de  Corvera,  may  connect 
itself  with  this  period  of  his  life.  This  is  undoubtedly  an  original 
work,  although  slight  in  character  and  of  second  rank  for  its 
artistic  merit. 

We  come  now  to  the  year  1783,  in  which,  a  few  months  after 
Goya  had  made  the  portrait  of  Floridablanca,  he  completed  the 
important  work  of  “The  Family  of  D.  Luis.”  This  Infante 
D.  Luis  Antón,  second  son  of  Philip  V  and  of  Isabella  Farnese, 
had  been  consecrated  to  the  Church,  and  received  the  red  hat  of  a 
cardinal  at  eight  years  of  age.  He  was  Archbishop  of  Seville 
and  Toledo,  but  suddenly  abandoned  those  high  dignities,  and 
lived  henceforth  a  retired  life  in  Arenas  de  San  Pedro.  Jovellanos 
said  of  him  that  his  name  was  destined  to  immortality  as  the  pro¬ 
tector  of  art  and  artists.  He  gave  up  his  career  in  the  Church  and 
married  a  lady  of  noble  Aragonese  family — famous  for  her  beauty 
and  one  who  fully  shared  the  artistic  tastes  of  her  husband — Doña 
Maria  Teresa  de  Vallabriga,  in  1776.  Among  the  various  children 
of  this  marriage,  who  could  not  take  for  the  time  being  the  title 
and  position  of  Infantes,  but  who  were  recognized  at  court  as 
related  to  the  royal  family,  appears  the  elder  of  the  female  issue, 


*  I  owe  this  information,  as  well  as  that  which  refers  to  the  six  portraits  and 
that  which  deals  with  the  relations  of  Goya  with  the  Bank  of  San  Carlos,  to  the 
kindness  of  Señor  D.  Francisco  Belda,  the  present  Assistant  Manager  of  the  Bank  of 
Spain,  who  with  great  skill  has  brought  together  and  keeps  to-day  a  remarkable 
official  document  relating  to  these  interesting  details. 


E 


20 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


María  Teresa,  afterwards  Condesa  de  Chinchón  and  wife  of  Godoy^ 
and  of  whose  admirable  portrait  by  Goya  of  much  later  date  we 
shall  speak  in  due  course. 

Goya  was  received  in  Arenas  de  San  Pedro  in  the  year  1783 
to  make  his  studies  for  the  work  of  which  we  are  now  treatine, 
and  the  impression  which  he  received  there  is  admirably  shown 
in  his  expressive  letter  to  Zapater  of  20  September,  in  which  he 
says : 


“  I  have  just  returned  from  Arenas  and  feel  very  tired.  His 
Excellency  loaded  me  with  a  thousand  honours,  I  have  painted 
his  portrait  and  that  of  his  wife  and  boy  and  girl  with  unexpected 
success  for  other  artists  had  been  there  previously  and  not  been 
successful.  I  have  been  out  twice  shooting  with  His  Highness;  he 
shoots  very  well  and  last  afternoon  he  said  to  me  when  shooting  at 
a  rabbit,  why  this  sketching  fellow  is  better  at  it  than  I  am  myself. 
I  have  been  a  month  on  end  with  these  gentry  and  they  are  most 
angelic  in  their  kindness  they  have  made  me  a  present  of  a  thousand 
dollars  and  a  gown  for  my  wife  all  covered  with  silver  and  gold  worth 
thirty  thousand  reales,  as  the  keeper  of  the  robes  told  me.  And 
they  felt  so  much  my  going  away  that  they  w'ould  not  let  me 
go  until  I  promised  to  return  at  least  every  year.  If  I  could  tell 
you  in  a  few  words  all  the  circumstances  and  all  that  occurred 
there  you  would  enjoy  hearing  it  but  I  am  not  able  to  do  so;  I  feel 
quite  shaken  from  driving  in  the  coach  which  His  Highness 
ordered  to  bring  me  here  in  great  haste.” 

The  studies  which  Goya  made  and  the  finished  picture  of  the 
family  to-day  in  Italy  could  be  seen  a  few  years  ago  in  Boadilla  del 
Monte,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Madrid,  where  they  were  then 
in  the  possession  of  the  family  of  Prince  Ruspoli,  a  descendant 
of  Godoy. 

Here  should  be  mentioned  the  following  works  of  the  fourteen 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


27 

which  are  in  Boadilla.  I  shall  speak  of  the  remainder  when  I 
come  to  the  years  in  which  they  were  painted. 

Head  of  the  Infante  D.  Luis;  this  is  a  vulgar  portrait,  of  coarse 
execution  and  very  scanty  merit.  An  inscription  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  picture  says:  “  A  portrait  of  the  Señor,  which  Don  F.  Goya 
made  between  nine  and  twelve  on  the  morning  of  the  day  of 
II  September  1783.” 

Profile  head  on  board,  and  as  coarse  as  the  last  mentioned,  of 
Doña  Maria  Teresa  Vallabriga;  it  has  also  its  inscription  which 
says:  “Portrait  which  Don  F.  Goya  made  between  eleven  and 
twelve  on  the  morning  of  27  August  1783.” 

Both  of  these  portraits  painted,  the  first  in  three  hours  and 
the  second  in  one,  are  of  quite  secondary  interest,  and  merely 
studies  for  the  great  picture,  even  though  that  of  Doña  María 
Teresa  is  not  in  the  same  position  as  that  in  which  she  appears  in 
the  finished  work. 

Portrait  of  the  Infante  D.  Luis,  in  white  uniform,  more 
perfect  than  almost  all  the  others  of  this  collection. 

Portrait  of  Doña  María  Teresa  Vallabriga,  pendant  to  the  last 
named  (both  are  half  length)  and  more  slight,  but  refined  and 
agreeable  in  colour. 

Portrait  of  a  boy,  the  eldest  son  of  this  marriage,  called  Luis 
Maria,  afterwards  known  as  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  at  six  years 
and  three  months  of  age.  This  is  a  mediocre  work,  but  not  with¬ 
out  interest;  the  boy  wears  a  blue  dress  and  is  occupied  in  putting 
together  a  puzzle  map.  Other  maps  all  round  him  seem  to  show 
the  passion  of  this  youth,  of  intelligent  appearance,  for  geography, 
a  passion  which  would  certainly  not  be  that  which  induced  his 
parents  later  to  dedicate  him,  even  when  still  under  age,  to  an 
ecclesiastical  career. 

Portrait  of  the  little  Maria  Teresa,  the  eldest  of  the  daughters 
of  the  Infante,  afterwards  Condesa  de  Chinchón  and  wife  of  Godoy. 
She  is  represented  here  capriciously  dressed ;  her  head  is  covered 


28 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


with  a  lace  veil,  and  she  is  laced  up  in  an  exaggerated  fashion  for 
her  age;  she  has  at  her  side  a  little  white  dog.  This  and  the  preceding 
portrait  of  these  two  elder  children  of  the  house  make  a  pair,  and 
I  firmly  believe  that  they  are  those  of  which  the  artist  makes 
mention  in  the  letter  above  quoted. 

The  picture  resulting  from  these  studies  of  Goya  during  his 
stay  in  Arenas  de  San  Pedro,  “  The  Family  of  the  Infante  D.  Luis,” 
in  which  are  represented  the  husband  and  wife,  the  children,  the 
servants,  and  Goya  himself  occupied  in  painting  the  scene,  fourteen 
persons  in  all,  created  a  veritable  sensation.  Its  composition,  in¬ 
spired  by  the  family  and  domestic  scenes  which  were  the  fashion 
in  those  days,  is  here  frankly  absurd.  The  prince  and  his  wife  in 
the  centre  of  the  canvas,  seated  at  an  oval  table,  are  playing  cards; 
the  two  elder  children  are  leaning  against  their  father,  while  a 
hairdresser  is  dressing  their  mother’s  hair.  Two  waiting  maids  on 
the  left  are  preparing  the  breakfast,  which  is  about  to  be  served 
on  dishes  of  silver;  the  right  of  the  picture  is  occupied  by  five 
servants  who  are  perfectly  ridiculous,  among  them  a  gardener  of 
Moorish  type  and  a  most  unattractive  nurse,  very  much  dressed  up, 
who  holds  in  her  arms  a  young  baby.  And  on  the  left  in  the  back¬ 
ground  we  see  Groya,  very  cleverly  foreshortened,  seated  before  the 
easel,  painting  this  forced  and  unnatural  scene. 

There  are,  it  is  true,  in  this  same  picture  heads  well  painted 
and  full  of  character;  but  perhaps  because  Goya  was  not  accustomed 
to  compose  groups  of  this  kind  the  result  is  certainly  a  motley  and 
tasteless  assembly  of  people,  affected  in  its  style,  poor  and  dull  in 
its  colouring.  It  is  some  years  since  I  saw  this  picture,  and  the 
opinion  which  I  have  just  expressed  is  taken  from  my  notes  of  that 
time;  but  I  am  not  disposed  to  alter  it,  since  I  find  the  opinion  of 
authorities  who  have  seen  this  work  since  myself  coincides 
absolutely  with  my  own  judgement. 

To  the  year  following  these  portraits  of  the  family  of  D.  Luis 
belongs  another  of  an  important  personality,  D.  Ventura  Rodriguez, 


CHARLES  IV 


Plate  VI 


i.'í 


I 


" ' ' _■ 

Í  '  *■  !  k.  i  L  '.i-i,- _ 


á 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


29 


architect  to  the  royal  household,  the  most  famous  of  the  Spanish 
architects  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  to  whose  talent  and  industry 
Madrid  owes  so  many  monuments  and  such  timely  improvements. 
This  portrait  (Plate  3),  of  more  than  half-length — in  which  the  sitter 
is  showing  an  architectural  plan,  on  which  may  be  read  an  inscrip¬ 
tion  which  terminates  with  the  signature  of  Goya  and  the  date  of 
1784 — is  but  little  refined  in  its  type  and  execution,  and  has  to-day 
become  slightly  blackened  and  faded.  Notwithstanding  these  defects 
the  work  is  broadly  and  freely  painted,  and  the  head,  full  of  character, 
brings  before  us  the  famous  architect  in  the  last  years  of  his  life — 
since  he  died  in  the  year  following  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight — years 
in  which  he  developed  more  than  before  his  activity  and  talent,  and 
in  which,  becoming  more  satisfied  with  his  projects  and  creations, 
he  made  the  remark,  “Now  I  ought  to  begin  to  work.”  It  seems  to 
be  the  fact  that  Ventura  Rodriguez  gave  his  protection  to  Goya,  and 
that  it  was  he  who  more  directly  put  him  into  those  relations  with 
the  Infante  D.  Luis  which  were  of  such  advantage  to  him. 

There  are  various  examples  of  this  portrait  with  slight  varia¬ 
tions,  and  some  copies  of  importance,  like  that  which  Zacarias 
Velázquez  made  and  which  is  preserved  in  the  Academia  de  San 
Fernando.  That  which  we  reproduce  here,  the  most  important  in 
our  opinion,  belongs  to  the  Galerie  Trotti  at  Paris. 

To  these  years,  or  very  little  later,  to  judge  from  the  age  at 
which  the  artist  is  represented,  must  be  attributed  the  small  and 
precious  self-portrait  which  appears  in  the  collection  of  the  Conde 
de  Villagonzalo  at  Madrid  (Plate  4),  in  which  Goya  is  represented 
standing  upright,  in  a  short,  fanciful  little  jacket,  looking  at  the 
spectator  and  working  on  a  large  canvas.  I  do  not  know  for  what 
reason  Mr.  Calvert,  in  his  “  Goya,”  publishes  this  portrait  as  that 
of  Asensio  Juliá.  It  has  always  been  considered  as  a  self-portrait 
of  Goya;  and  very  properly  so,  to  judge  by  the  face  there  depicted, 
which  is  in  every  respect  identical  with  that  of  Goya  in  this  period. 
It  is  of  choice  technique,  and  shows  already  the  artistic  independ- 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


30 

ence  of  the  artist,  who  has  succeeded  here  in  realizing  a  more 
personal  expression  of  his  art  than  in  the  majority  of  his  works  of 
that  time,  in  which  he  lowered  his  talent  to  satisfy  the  preferences 
of  his  sitters,  who  were  accustomed  to  another  kind  of  art.  Here 
the  figure,  seen  against  the  light,  detaches  itself  in  shadow  in  front 
of  a  large  window;  and  we  can  appreciate  the  fine  quality  of  the 
middle  tints  and  the  colouring  in  the  shadows,  a  quality  which 
represented  then  a  great  innovation,  and  which  formed  such  an 
important  feature  in  his  later  productions.  The  artist  here  lets  us 
know  the  materials  of  his  work,  the  short  brushes  grasped  together, 
appropriate  to  the  detailed  art  which  characterizes  his  portraits  of 
these  years,  and,  above  all,  his  palette  with  ten  colours  placed  there 
from  the  white  following  through  the  clear  ochres  to  the  greens 
and  blues,  finishing  with  the  darker  colours.  Only  one  colour, 
vermilion,  detaches  itself  from  the  rest,  occupying  the  first  place 
next  to  the  white.  In  the  palette  of  Goya  in  later  years  this  would 
not  call  for  our  attention;  the  reds  then  occupy  the  place  of  pre¬ 
ference;  however,  this  preference  had  not  yet  been  shown  in  his 
works,  but  notwithstanding  we  have  seen  that  already  the  colour 
mentioned  has  a  predominant  place  in  his  palette. 

This  self-portrait  brings  before  us  the  figure  of  the  painter  in 
those  years,  in  which,  to  judge  by  his  correspondence,  it  appears 
that,  in  spite  of  being  occupied  with  work  of  a  certain  importance 
and  in  portraits  of  well-known  people,  he  met  with  opposition  and 
was  discouraged  in  his  work.  “  Pray  to  the  Virgin  that  she  will 
give  me  more  desire  to  work,”  he  says  to  his  friend  Zapater. 

Esteemed  by  F'loridablanca,  protected  by  the  Infante  D.  Luis, 
and  received  in  the  Palace,  the  older  painters,  who,  in  their  own 
opinion  were  better  masters  of  their  art  than  Goya,  commenced  in 
the  year  1783  and  subsequently,  to  find  fault  with  his  work  and 
to  try  to  block  his  future  path.  From  his  private  correspondence 
it  becomes  clear  that  Goya  was  annoyed  with  them,  although  he 
says  nothing  definite  on  this  subject,  and  still  less  on  that  of  his 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


31 


brother-in-law,  Francisco  Bayeu,  who  had  been  his  protector  at 
the  beginning,  but  now  began  to  show  signs  of  jealousy  at  his 
progress  in  court  favour.  Even  more  than  through  the  painter 
himself  this  state  of  things  is  known  through  a  letter  directed  also 
to  Zapater,  and  written  by  Camilo  Goya,  brother  of  the  painter, 
on  18  October,  1784,  from  Chinchón. 

The  year  before,  Goya  had  sent  for  his  mother,  already  a  widow,^ 
and  to  whom  he  had  given  an  allowance,  which  he  later  raised  to 
5  reales  a  day  when  she  returned  to  Zaragoza,  not  being  able  to 
reconcile  herself  to  the  life  at  court.  Her  son  Camilo,  who  was  a 
priest,  had  come  with  her  from  Zaragoza,  and  was  nominated  by 
the  Infante  D.  Luis,  presumably  at  the  suggestion  or  request  of 
Goya,  to  a  chaplaincy  at  Chinchón.  The  letter  to  which  I  have 
referred  was  written  a  little  after  he  had  taken  possession  of  the 
chaplaincy,  and  in  it  he  speaks  of  the  many  annoyances  suffered 
by  Francho  in  Madrid.  He  says  in  a  certain  passage: 

“  Although  God  has  endowed  him  with  fortune  and  ability  they 
had  persecuted  him  with  so  much  force  that,  seeing  they  are  not 
able  to  obscure  his  merit,  they  take  away  his  patience,  they  criticize 
what  he  has  said  or  not  said  and  turning  over  with  their  lies  all 
that  they  can,  so  that  at  the  time  I  am  writing  my  heart  is  altogether 
upset;  this  being  so  I  am  not  able  to  say  all  I  could  say,  the  worst  of 
it  is  they  succeed  in  this  way  in  making  him  abhor  painting,  and  not 
being  able  to  make  him  give  up  his  work  they  at  any  rate  make  him 
less  disposed  to  go  on  with  it;  for  they  cannot  bear  that  he  should 
get  so  much  praise  and  attain  such  honour  from  every  one  else.” 

The  character  of  Goya  acquired  in  these  years  an  irritability 

*  The  Conde  de  la  Viñaza  in  the  “  Adiciones  al  Ceán  Bermudez,”  vol.  ii,  p.  242, 
informs  us  of  the  death  of  Goya’s  father.  He  says  that  in  the  parish  of  San  Miguel 
de  los  Navarros,  at  Zaragoza,  is  witnessed  the  following  deposition  of  death,  inscribed 
on  p.  49  of  the  ninth  volume  of  the  register  of  deaths:  “José  Goya,  husband  of 
Engracia  Lucientes,  died  on  the  17  December  1781,  and  was  buried  in  the  principal 
nave  of  San  Miguel.  He  did  not  leave  any  will  because  he  had  nothing  to  leave.” 


32 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


and  a  violence  which  is  not — and  that  by  a  long  way — as  great  as 
has  been  described  by  some  of  his  biographers,  but  nevertheless 
is  quite  apparent.  The  reasons  for  this  are  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  his  artistic  independence  prevented  him  gaining  the  recognition 
and  advancement  which  he  merited,  or  at  any  rate  stood  in  the  way 
of  and  delayed  his  definite  triumph.  We  trace  this  in  his  letters  to 
Zapater.  On  3  March,  1784,  after  having  made  the  portrait  of 
Floridablanca,  and  having  won  the  approval  of  so  distinguished  a 
sitter,  Goya  wrote: 

“  My  Friend,  there  is  nothing  new  and  there  is  still  more 
silence  as  regards  my  affairs  with  Señor  Moñino  than  before  I 
painted  his  portrait;  the  most  he  said  was  after  he  had  looked  at  it 
with  pleasure;  Goya,  we  shall  see  about  it  later  on.” 

This  phrase  sounds  to  our  ears  like  something  already  known  ; 
it  is  the  eternal  outlet  of  escape  of  the  professional  politician.  “  Ya 
nos  veremos  mas  despacio!”  A  phrase  which  on  the  lips  of  a  Min¬ 
ister  is  as  much  as  to  say:  “  Leave  me  in  peace — I  recommend  you 
not  to  return  to  this  subject,  at  any  rate  while  I  am  Minister.”  We 
see  that  in  politics  as  well  as  art  every  race  has  its  characteristics, 
which  persist  for  generations  and  centuries. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  hope  of  ultimate  triumph  sup¬ 
ported  Goya,  and  centred  especially  in  his  j^icture  for  San  Francisco 
el  Grande. 

On  31  October,  in  the  same  )ear  in  which  Floridablanca  had 
put  him  off,  as  he  might  have  any  vulgar  and  importunate  place- 
hunter,  he  says,  referring  to  the  competition  of  pictures  for  San 
Francisco,  of  which  we  have  spoken  in  the  previous  chapter: 

“The  King  has  just  ordered  the  Mass  for  the  Dead  to  be 
celebrated  there  [in  the  church  of  San  Francisco].  I  am  giving  the 
last  touches  to  my  picture,  which  you  will  hear  talked  about  as 
well  as  the  others,  since  this  function  is  much  looked  forward  to 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


33 


by  the  professors  and  dilettantes  of  Art.  The  other  painters  are 
doing  the  same,  except  my  brother-in-law,  who  has  replied  that 
on  the  last  day  he  will  come  from  Toledo  and  his  picture  only 
needs  a  touch.” 

As  is  well  known,  Goya  succeeded  in  this  competition  in  the 
year  following,  1785,  with  the  picture  already  mentioned,  which 
represents  “San  Bernardino  of  Siena  preaching  to  King  Alfonso 
of  Aragon.”  The  triumph  of  Goya,  initiated  by  the  public  and  by 
competent  judges  of  art,  was  confirmed  by  the  king.  From  the 
day  on  which  this  act  of  justice  was  accomplished  Goya  appears,  to 
judge  from  his  correspondence,  satisfied  and  in  good  spirits, 
occupying  himself  henceforth  more  calmly  with  his  own  business 
and  those  matters  which  refer  to  his  art.  Here  is  proof.  He  says 
on  II  March  1786: 

“  I  have  not  what  you  have,  for  with  all  my  work  I  have  not 
more,  with  my  shares  in  the  bank  and  the  Academy,  than  twelve 
or  thirteen  thousand  reales  a  year,  and  with  all  this  I  am  as  con¬ 
tented  as  the  happiest  man  on  earth.” 

His  career  at  the  court  from  this  moment  was  one  of  rapid 
success,  and  contrasts  with  the  difficulties  of  previous  years.  In 
the  same  year  in  which  he  wrote  the  letter  just  quoted  he  says  to 
Zapater  on  i  August : 

“  My  Martin,  I  am  the  King’s  Painter  with  fifteen  thousand 
reales,  and  although  I  have  no  time  at  my  disposal  I  will  yet 
suggest  to  you  how  the  King  sent  a  command  to  Bayeu  and 
Maella  that  they  should  look  for  the  two  best  artists  they  could 
find  to  paint  the  designs  for  tapestries  and  whatever  was  required 
in  the  Palace  in  fresco  or  in  oil.  Bayeu  proposed  his  brother  and 
Maella  proposed  me.  This  advice  reached  the  King  and  the  favour 
was  granted ;  and  I  knowing  nothing  of  it,  it  came  upon  me  without 
knowing  what  was  happening.  I  have  thanked  the  King,  the 

F 


34 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Prince,  and  the  rest  of  the  officials,  also  Bayeu  who  says  he  was 
the  cause  of  Maella  proposing  me  and  Maella  for  my  being  proposed 
by  him,  and  good-bye  for  I  will  write  to  you  shortly.  Yours  and 
ever  yours. 

“  Goya.” 


There  follow  those  other  intimate  letters  in  which  he  speaks 
but  little  of  painting,  but  relates  instead  episodes  of  his  life  in 
Madrid,  including  some  comic  incidents  and  others  wittily 
described,  as,  for  example,  the  upset  that  he  had  in  a  carriage 
which  he  had  bought  to  drive  out  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
town  and  palace.  Some  family  annoyances,  the  illnesses  of  his 
children,  and  his  preoccupation  as  to  where  and  how  to  invest  his 
savings,  are  the  only  serious  notes  in  the  letters  of  the  following 
years.  It  was  no  longer  Goya  who  was  seeking  for  support  and 
protection;  it  was  the  painter  who  was  run  after  and  who — as  he 
says  himself — had  made  himself  desired.  In  his  private  life 
he  made  no  change  beyond  furnishing  his  house  with  greater 
comfort.  In  the  year  1786  he  was  already  making  28,000  reales. 
The  two-wheeled  carriage  with  the  gipsy  horse  {caballo  gitano') 
which  he  had  before,  was  now  replaced  by  one  of  four  wheels 
drawn  by  two  mules,  with  which  certainly,  as  he  tells  us  later,  he 
had  another  good  tumble. 

Notwithstanding  his  new  position,  which  obliged  him  to 
accept  in  a  certain  manner  the  court  life,  his  simple  habits  did  not 
change  in  those  years;  and  his  ideas  and  sentiments  remained  the 
same  as,  in  these  artless  letters  of  his,  we  have  been  able  to 
appreciate  in  the  years  of  his  youth.  No  great  preoccupations 
are  here  outside  those  of  his  art;  his  life  is  well  arranged;  to  his 
intimate  friend  he  speaks  constantly  of  his  Pepa  and  their  children, 
of  his  small  savings,  and  of  how  and  why  he  placed  them  here  or 
there;  his  greatest  expenses  were  his  hunting  excursions,  and  his 
one  luxury  the  two  carriages,  the  gipsy  horse,  and  the  pair  of 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


35 


mules,  which  he  bought  at  Zaragoza,  considering  that  they  would 
be  cheaper  there.  In  the  letter  which  he  writes  to  Zapater  on  the 
occasion  of  the  death  of  the  latter’s  father  he  says — and  it  is  not 
likely  that  on  this  occasion  he  would  exaggerate  his  feelings: 

“January  lo,  1787. 

“  Beloved  of  my  Soul.  With  the  feelings  you  can  imagine  I 
take  up  my  pen  to  answer  you;  and  in  this  matter,  my  friend,  you 
know  that  I  have  passed  through  the  same  experience,  and  as  this 
is  the  journey  we  all  have  to  take  one  after  another,  I  think  the 
one  who  goes  best  prepared  (as  it  may  be  supposed  that  your  father 
like  mine  in  his  old  age  must  have  been  so)  goes  the  best  and  with 
the  best  fortune.  So  then,  my  dear,  rejoice  and  offer  it  all  to  the 
service  of  Our  Lord.” 

Earlier,  or  later  in  their  date  but  within  this  period,  must  be 
considered  as  painted  not  a  few  portraits  of  the  second  order, 
whose  authenticity  seems  proved.  Among  these  are  that  of 
Altamirano,  in  the  collection  of  the  Marqués  de  la  Vega  Inclán;  a 
head  and  shoulders  which  represents  a  young  man,  in  the  collection 
of  the  Marqués  de  Santillana;  the  portrait  of  D.  Juan  Manuel 
Alvarez  de  Faria,  that  of  the  Marqués  de  Bajamar,  that  of  a  boy 
dressed  as  a  soldier  with  a  landscape  background,  which  belongs 
to  Señor  Orossen  of  Madrid,  and,  the  most  important  of  all,  that 
of  a  youth  of  very  expressive  physiognomy,  a  work  which  has  not 
been  long  in  the  charge  of  the  Museum  of  Boston,  and  which 
seems  to  me  of  interest  even  when  I  cannot  pronounce  an  opinion 
on  this  portrait,  since  I  only  know  it  through  the  photograph 
(Plate  5).  It  has  been  said  that  this  is  a  portrait  of  the  son  of  the 
artist;  this  does  not  seem  to  me  likely,  either  from  the  age  of  the 
sitter,  or  his  appearance,  or  even  his  dress,  which  makes  one  think 
more  of  a  great  nobleman  than  the  son  of  a  then  modest  painter. 

From  this  group  of  works  two  of  special  interest  detach  them- 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


36 

selves,  that  interest  being  due  to  the  persons  they  represent,  two 
brilliant  officers  of  his  time — Admiral  Mazarredo  and  General 
Ricardos.  Both  of  these  portraits  come  from  Boadilla,  where  they 
were  in  the  collection,  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  of  the 
Ruspoli  family. 

Admiral  Mazarredo  is  represented  in  half  length,  seated. 
There  is  seen  in  the  background,  through  a  window,  a  view  of  the 
sea  with  a  ship,  which  is  curious  at  least,  this  being  one  of  the 
few  views  of  this  kind  that  Goya  ever  painted.  Like  to  the  portrait 
of  the  Admiral  just  mentioned,  which  comes  from  Boadilla,  and 
approximately  of  similar  technique,  is  another  at  Zaragoza  in  the 
possession  of  General  D.  Antonio  Mazarredo,  a  descendant  of  the 
Admiral;  and  with  this  was  one  of  a  young  girl,  Juanita  Mazarredo, 
very  refined  and  delicate  in  treatment,  and  probably  of  the  same 
period,  which  went  to  the  Havemeyer  collection  in  New  York. 

Of  General  Ricardos  various  different  portraits  arc  known, 
one  of  half  length,  in  which  the  sitter  appears  younger  than  the 
other  two,  and  which  belongs  to  Sr.  Navas  (Madrid). 

Another  is  the  property  of  D.  Pedro  Durán  (Madrid);  and  a 
third,  which  I  do  not  myself  know,  but  of  which  the  photographic 
reproduction  looks  \'ery  well,  with  a  dedication,  and  of  great  im¬ 
portance  and  interest,  is  in  the  collection  of  D.  Fortunato  de  Selgas, 
in  Cudillero  (Asturias). 

There  exist  a  great  quantity  of  portraits — all  resembling  each 
other,  although  not  identical — of  King  Charles  IV  and  Queen 
Maria  Luisa,  in  which  he  appears  with  his  unexpressive  face  and 
unhappy  look,  and  she  with  an  enormous  hat  of  ribbons  and 
feathers  which  rests  on  her  curls,  adorning  with  little  success  her 
head,  which  is  deficient  in  feminine  charm.  These  portraits  vary 
in  their  size,  since,  even  when  they  are  almost  all  of  half  length, 
some  are  only  extended  head  and  shoulders;  moreover,  they  difier 
in  the  dress  and  colours,  in  the  ornaments  and  backgrounds;  but 
the  figure  is  always  the  same,  put  in  slightly  and  with  little  study. 


PORTRAIT  OF  A  YOUNG  GIRL 


Plate  VII 


( P-  39) 


■  \ 


1 


il' 


•  ’"i 


;i  iíí 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


37 


suggesting  an  urgent  commission  and  haste  in  carrying  out.  Are 
these  original  portraits  by  Goya?  I  believe  this  question  could  be 
answered  at  its  proper  time  in  either  way,  and  with  the  certainty, 
though  it  may  appear  strange,  of  not  being  mistaken  in  this 
statement.  They  cannot  be  earlier  than  1788,  since  Charles  III 
died  in  the  December  of  the  preceding  year,  and  Charles  and 
Luisa  appear  here  with  the  crown  and  attributes  of  the  throne. 
However,  just  as  little  can  they  be  much  later  than  this  date, 
judging  by  the  age  of  the  persons  represented.  They  are  un¬ 
doubtedly  the  portraits  of  the  new  monarchs  requested  by  ministries, 
public  offices,  etc.,  in  which  it  is  customary  to  display  the  like¬ 
nesses  of  the  reigning  sovereigns. 

On  the  other  hand  we  have  already  seen  that  Goya  had  been 
nominated  painter  to  the  king  in  the  year  1786,  and  further  promoted 
to  be  court  painter  in  1789,  precisely  the  date  to  which,  for  the 
reasons  mentioned,  these  portraits  must  be  attributed.  Goya  received 
the  commission  to  do  the  first  portraits ;  others  being  immediately 
asked  for,  these  were  repeated;  and  the  painter,  aided  by  his  own 
rapidity  of  execution,  and  by  other  painters,  since  in  the  majority 
of  these  works  two  hands  may  be  traced,  set  going  a  veritable 
workshop  of  portraits,  and  in  a  little  time  was  able  to  supply 
all  these  numerous  requests.  It  would  be  impossible  to  state 
the  number  of  these  pictures  actually  known;  many  to-day  are  to 
be  found  in  the  Ministries,  in  the  public  offices,  in  the  special  schools, 
in  the  Institutes  of  Madrid  and  the  provinces  for  which  they  were 
painted.  Others  left  these  official  centres,  and  found  a  home  with 
private  individuals  or  museums.  Ought  these  pictures  to  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  original  works  of  Goya?  This  is  the  question  to  which 
I  now  return.  Of  some  this  can  be  decided  in  the  affirmative;  for 
instance,  those  which  were  preserved  in  the  Ministerio  de  Hacienda, 
and  which  not  long  ago  came  thence  to  the  Museo  del  Prado 
(catalogued  to-day  under  Nos.  1322  and  1323).  The  likenesses 
of  the  monarchs  here  are  given  in  three-quarter  length;  the  king 


38 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


(Plate  6)  with  a  blue  coat  stands  out  against  a  green  curtain,  which 
serves  as  a  background ;  the  details  of  the  dress,  the  decorations,  etc., 
are  not  executed  with  so  much  precision,  are  more  loose,  more 
pleasing;  the  queen  wears  a  mulberry-coloured  dress  with  much 
trimming,  and  her  figure  is  seen  against  a  nut  green  curtain,  forming 
a  bold  and  happy  harmony  of  colour.  Of  others  of  these  portraits 
it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  they  are  not  original  works  by  Goya, 
and  consequently  I  need  not  trouble  myself  with  them;  and  others, 
the  majority  are  and  are  not,  from  Goya’s  hand,  since  in  them, 
judging  from  the  quickness  with  which  they  were  painted,  fragments 
can  be  traced  which  alone  the  artist  himself  could  have  carried  out, 
and  others,  more  mannered  and  heavy,  have  been  undoubtedly 
entrusted  to  his  assistants  or  pupils.  Altogether  they  form  a  produc¬ 
tion  which — without  being  original,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word 
— seems  manufactured  out  of  an  artist’s  workshop,  and  as  such 
of  scanty  interest  and  on  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell.  What 
I  have  said  with  regard  to  this  point  I  believe  to  be  correctly  stated, 
although  I  only  put  it  forward  here  as  my  own  hypothesis;  since 
neither  Goya  in  his  own  letters  nor  any  other  documents  tell  us 
anything  about  these  innumerable  portraits  which  we  suppose  he 
made  of  his  sovereigns  between  the  years  1788  and  1789.^ 

The  productions  of  Goya  in  the  years  preceding  1790  must 
have  been  exuberant  and  fruitful.  In  these  years  he  made  the  last 
designs  for  the  tapestry  factory,  a  quantity  of  pictures,  and  a  count¬ 
less  number  of  portraits  of  very  varying  merit,  in  which  nevertheless, 
speaking  generally,  he  does  not  show  in  any  complete  manner  those 
most  individual  qualities  as  a  portrait  painter  which  he  rapidly 
developed  in  the  following  ten  years. 

Being  thus  in  close  relation  with  the  great  families  of  Spain, 
some  of  these  possess  accounts  and  documents  which  show  the 
commissions  and  corresponding  payments  made  to  Goya  for  his 

*  In  “Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  pp.  146-148,  notes  are  published  which 
seem  to  give  e.xpression  to  and  establish  our  suppositions  relating  to  these  portraits, 


QUEEN  MARIA  LUISA 


Plate  VIII 


(p.  40) 


l;ry  -  ,  '■'•• 

'"t  '-■■;■-  /  ■  t'' ’i'  ..'  "•  !'■ 


SU#'-'" 


'A  :'í'."' "i  '■ 


■>> 


*l< 

..  ;  'I 


I 


'ill 


i 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


39 


pictures.  The  family  of  Osuna,  undoubtedly  the  first  with  whom 
Goya  came  into  such  relations,  preserve  in  their  family  archives 
interesting  dates  referring  to  our  painter.  The  earliest  of  these 
which  I  know  is  of  1787,  accounts,  cheques,  and  orders  of  payment 
referring  to  seven  paintings  (none  of  them  portraits)  destined  for 
Alameda,  and  for  which  the  artist  received  the  total  sum  of 
22,000  reales  de  vellón.  The  accounts  which  follow — among  these 
being  several  for  portraits — are  later,  and  we  shall  speak  of  these 
when  we  arrive  at  the  period  to  which  these  works  belong. 

With  regard  to  the  portraits,  to  many  of  which  it  is  not  possible 
to  assign  a  precise  date,  there  are,  however,  two  which,  both  for 
their  dress,  and  above  all  for  their  technique  and  certain  details,  I 
now  think  should  be  mentioned;  these  are  of  the  Marquesa  de  San 
Andrés,  very  full  of  detail,  yet  with  reminiscences  of  the  art  of  Mengs, 
both  of  which  left  Spain  recently,  and  which,  one  in  Germany 
and  one  in  England,  are  preserved  in  collections  unknown  to  me. 
There  are  others  in  which  the  dress  of  the  sitter  is  adorned  with  a 
certain  border  of  fur,  a  particular  detail  which  seems  to  belong  to 
a  passing  fashion,  since  it  is  not  repeated  in  later  years.  Among 
these  may  be  recorded  that  of  D.  Mariano  Luis  de  Urquijo,  which 
is  in  the  possession  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History,  and  one  very 
special  portrait  of  an  unknown  gentleman  which  the  collector, 
M.  Van  Gelder,  possesses  in  Belgium. 

Likewise  to  this  period,  in  my  opinion,  should  be  assigned 
that  charming  head  and  shoulders  of  a  young  girl  in  the  Brussels 
Museum  (Plate  7),  No.  738  of  the  catalogue;  a  work  simple  yet 
intimate  in  its  character,  highly  finished,  not  however  with  the 
same  detail  as  that  of  Mengs,  but  with  the  treatment  of  one  who 
wishes  to  penetrate  and  to  master  thoroughly  the  characteristic 
lines  of  his  model. 

With  this  work  can  be  also  mentioned  another  not  so 
typical,  the  portrait  of  Feliciana  Bayeu,  niece  of  Goya,  which, 
as  a  gift  from  the  Spanish  artist,  D.  Cristobal  Ferriz,  has  been 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


40 

in  the  Yíiiseo  del  Prado  (No.  1328  of  the  catalogue)  since  the 
year  1912. 

The  preoccupation,  the  obsession,  of  Goya  in  these  years  for 
Spanish  art  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  more  particularly  for  that 
of  Velazquez,  continued  in  a  manner  which  can  be  traced,  although 
it  did  not  or  could  not  manifest  itself  in  those  times.  Two  details 
prove  this  fact,  one  merely  a  matter  of  curiosity,  the  result  on  his 
part  of  a  caprice,  the  other  of  more  serious  interest.  The  first  of 
these  is  a  portrait  of  Maria  Luisa  (Plate  8),  a  typical  example  of 
the  numerous  series  which  I  have  mentioned.  This  is  of  full  length, 
and  very  delicate  and  careful  in  execution;  the  queen  wears  a 
crinoline,  identical  in  its  form  and  no  less  in  its  proportions  than 
those  worn  by  the  ladies  of  the  court  of  Philip  IV,  among  whom 
Velazquez  had  painted  the  portrait  of  Doña  Mariana  de  Austria. 
This  portrait  by  Goya — recalling  Velazquez  in  everything,  in  its 
arrangement,  the  way  the  sitter  is  placed,  even  in  its  technique — 
shows  us  how  well  the  artist  had  remembered  those  works,  which 
had  made  on  him  so  deep  an  impression.  The  free  technique,  the 
tonality,  everything  here  seems  as  if  inspired  by  the  memory  of 
those  works  of  the  great  Spanish  master. 

This  portrait  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Ministry  of  War, 
with,  as  its  companion,  that  of  the  King — this  last  a  picture  much 
weaker  in  character,  which  makes  one  think  of  some  pupil.  Both 
these  were  brought  to  notice,  having  been  come  upon  in  out-of-the- 
way  places  of  the  ministry,  by  the  restorer  of  the  museum, 
D.  F'ederico  Amutio;  afterwards,  and  at  the  request  of  the  actual 
Director  of  the  Museum  of  Modern  Art,  the  distinguished 
D.  Mariano  Benlliure,  they  passed  to  this  museum  where  they 
have  found  a  worthy  home. 

The  portrait  of  Maria  Luisa,  as  well  as  her  companion,  King 
Charles  IV,  and  that  of  Charles  III,  which  was  described  in  the 
last  chapter  (p.  17)  were  mentioned  in  the  “Inventory  of  the 
Museum,  drawn  up  in  1849,”  ^^d  recently  studied  by  the  industrious 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


41 

and  learned  secretary  of  the  Museo  del  Prado,  D.  Pedro  Beroqui. 
The  references  are  as  follows: 

“2810.  Portrait  of  Señor  King  Charles  III  as  a  huntsman  with  a 
dog  at  his  feet.  Frame  of  pinewood  inlaid  with  walnut. 
Copy  of  Goya. 

Height:  7  feet,  5  inches.  Width:  4  feet,  6  inches. 

“2811.  Idem  of  King  Charles  IV with  hat  under  his  arm,  the  sceptre 
and  baton  of  command  in  his  right  hand.  Frame  of  pine 
inlaid  with  mahogany.  Copy  of  idem. 

Height:  7  feet,  4  inches.  Width:  4  feet,  9  inches. 

“  2812.  Idem  of  Queen  Doña  Maria  Luisa  with  hoop  skirt  and  gun. 
Frame  same  as  preceding.  Copy  of  Goya. 

Height:  7  feet,  4  inches.  Width:  4  feet,  9  inches.” 

It  will  be  noted  that  these  three  portraits  are  recorded  as 
“  Copies  of  Goya.”  It  is  stated,  moreover,  that  they  were  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  royal  domain  of  Buen  Retiro  in  virtue  of  the  royal 
command  of  1847. 

As  far  as  concerns  those  of  Charles  HI  and  Charles  IV,  we 
are  quite  in  agreement  with  their  being  considered  as  copies,  but 
not  so  with  reference  to  that  of  Maria  Luisa,  which  seems  to  us  an 
authentic  and  indisputable  work  of  the  master. 

The  other  work  to  which  I  referred  is  a  most  interesting  ex¬ 
ample,  which  I  recommend  to  those  who  take  a  fancy  to  such 
artistic  problems.  It  is  the  copy  made  by  Goya  of  the  study  of 
the  head  and  shoulders  which  Velazquez  had  painted  of  Pope 
Innocent  X,  which  is  preserved  in  Rome  in  the  Palazzo  Doria. 
This  study,  marvellous  in  its  realism,  is  the  one  which  was  until 
lately  preserved  in  the  Hermitage  collection  (No.  418  of  the  cata¬ 
logue);  the  copy  (I  cannot  state  precisely  whether  it  is  of  the  painting 
of  Rome,  of  that  of  the  Hermitage,  or  a  third  which  is  mentioned 
but  is  to-day  unknown)  is  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Conde  de 
Villagonzalo.  It  is  more  a  study  of  colour  than  a  faithful  copy. 

G 


42 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Undoubtedly  Goya,  impressed  by  the  truth  and  life  of  the  paint¬ 
ing  by  Velazquez,  all  force  and  expression,  sought  to  preserve 
the  memory  of  the  work  which  had  so  completely  captivated  him. 
The  copy — as  I  say,  a  very  free  one — is  sometimes  not  worthy  of 
the  original:  however,  the  relation  of  the  values  and  the  study  of 
the  reds  is  successfully  attained,  and  what  the  original  has  here 
lost  in  character  is  sometimes  compensated  in  the  copy  by  the 
fineness  of  colour.  An  inscription  in  the  lower  part  of  the  canvas 
says:  “Innocent  X,  painted  by  Velázquez  and  copied  by  Goya.” 


MARQUESA  DE  PONTEJOS 


Plate  IX 


(P-  47) 


( 


ll 


<  I 


1 1  If 


I 


r 


I 


1 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Grey  Portraits — Portraits  of  the  Year  1795 

IN  the  two  preceding  chapters  we  have  mentioned  a  good  number 
of  portraits,  some  of  real  merit  and  others  of  interest.  We  also 
noticed  at  the  same  time  marked  progress  in  the  development 
of  the  artist,  who,  from  his  first  work  of  this  nature,  inspired  by 
that  of  Mengs  and  other  Spanish  painters  who  imitated  the  famous 
Bohemian,  begins  to  acquire  his  own  characteristic  features;  but 
for  all  this  he  follows  them,  still  obeying  in  some  degree  the  tend¬ 
encies  which  determined  his  first  steps  in  painting.  If  Goya  had 
disappeared  from  the  world  of  the  living  in  those  last  years  of  the 
decade  of  1780,  in  which  he  completed  forty  years  of  his  life,  he 
would  not  be,  certainly,  the  famous  and  admired  painter  of  portraits 
who  to-day  awakens  such  interest  and  curiosity,  and  whose  crea¬ 
tions  have  had  a  marked  and  determining  influence  upon  the  most 
important  works  of  the  modern  schools. 

His  technique  develops  in  a  rapid  manner.  In  the  years  close 
on  1790  he  commences,  still  hesitating — he  produces  works,  some 
of  them  very  feeble,  and  then  takes  steps  backwards  which  recall 
earlier  portraits,  and  some  fruitless  attempts ;  then  he  takes  a  new 
and  decided  direction  in  the  search  of  a  simple  and  synthetic  art, 
and,  above  all  and  more  than  anything  else,  of  a  clear  grey  scheme 
of  colour. 

This  arrangement  and  degree  of  intensity  of  the  different 
colours  of  his  paintings  is  not  absolutely  original  in  Goya;  we 
recollect  having  sometimes  met  with  it  already  in  the  colour  schemes 
of  earlier  periods.  The  men  who  then  employed  it  were  pursuing 
different  ideals  from  those  which  animated  our  painter,  but  its 


43 


44 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


ultimate  expression  when  reached — the  expression  by  means  of 
colours,  which  are  the  words  of  painting,  and  harmonies,  which  are 
the  language  of  pictorial  art — is  the  same,  and  in  this  respect  Goya 
represents  the  development  of  the  tendency  above  indicated. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  scale  of  greys,  which  is  so  delicate,  the 
harmonies  of  grey  and  silver,  the  use  of  certain  carmines  and  violets 
— which  for  the  first  time  are  met  with  in  the  works  of  Greco,  and, 
discovered  there  by  Velazquez,  were  employed  in  like  manner  by 
him  to  become  the  most  transcendental  of  his  qualities — are  pre¬ 
cisely  those  which  we  shall  discover  in  Goya. 

Velazquez  understood  that  the  great  Italian  School,  in  the 
same  way  as  the  schools  of  the  north,  was  suffering  from  conven¬ 
tionality  of  colouring;  and  far  from  following  them,  being  possessed 
of  an  exuberantly  rich  palette  and  endowed  with  an  optical  organ 
of  the  first  order,  he  went  direct  for  his  study  to  nature.  Then, 
with  the  instruction  which  the  works  of  Greco  offered  to  help  his 
own  observation  and  with  supreme  sincerity  and  simplicity,  he 
employed  no  more  than  the  colours  necessary  to  obtain  the  grada¬ 
tions  which  nature  presents  to  our  eyes  and  the  harmonies  which 
reality  ofiers  to  us;  giving  the  first  place,  by  his  own  temperament 
and  preference,  to  those  in  which  are  combined  all  the  shades  of 
grey. 

Goya,  whether  by  study  or  by  instinct — and  it  is  probable 
that  both  causes  affected  him — attained  in  these  years  by  recourse 
to  a  similar  technique  his  own  individual  method  of  expression, 
and  succeeded  in  possessing  and  dominating  it  completely  by 
the  year  1794,  in  which  I  have  reason  to  believe  two  most 
remarkable  portraits  were  painted;  one  of  these  is  that  of  the 
Marquesa  de  la  Solana  and  the  other  that  famous  portrait  of 
Bayeu,  productions  of  the  choicest  character  and  typical  works  of 
capital  importance  in  the  history  and  development  of  painting. 

The  most  important  work  of  Goya  in  this  period,  in  which  in 
a  marked  manner  he  manifests  the  change  in  his  palette  and  shows 


DON  SEBASTIAN  MARTINEZ 


Plate  X 


(P-  S3) 


1 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


45 


this  tendency  to  grey  colour,  to  these  harmonies  in  grey  and  grey 
tones,  is  the  “  Portrait  of  the  Ducal  Family  of  Osuna  and  their 
children  ”  (No.  739  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Museo  del  Prado).  This 
group,  mediocre  in  composition  and  in  which  the  children  have  the 
appearance  of  puppets,  is,  notwithstanding  its  deficiencies,  a  work 
of  great  novelty  in  its  colouring,  of  notable  artistic  independence, 
and  is  a  landmark  in  the  pictorial  development  of  its  author. 
Goya  has  here  broken  loose  from  that  conventional  and  detailed 
art,  of  which  we  do  not  know  if  he  was  a  great  admirer  or  a  silent 
detractor,  but  which  he  had  been  practising  more  or  less  from  his 
first  portraits  onwards.  The  simplicity  of  this  group,  its  truth, 
its  loose  technique,  and  its  colouring  make  us  think  of  a  restoration 
of  Spanish  painting  of  the  best  period.  Already  we  recognize  in 
it  our  own  art—the  unmistakable  and  unique  qualities  of  really 
Spanish  painting.  In  detail  it  is  unequal  in  construction  and 
strength;  I  consider  its  best  feature  to  be  the  head  of  the  duchess, 
of  extraordinary  truth  and  delicacy. 

But  the  most  salient  quality  of  this  picture  is  its  ensemble, 
its  total  effect  without  any  hardness  of  outline,  just  as  reality 
presents  itself  to  our  view.  He  tries,  just  as  Velazquez  had  done 
in  another  period,  and  consequently  in  another  manner,  to  draw 
without  lines  and  to  paint  without  making  a  painting— -not  to  re¬ 
produce  the  things,  but  the  sensation  of  things  within  ourselves  ; 
only  to  succeed  in  giving  us  a  sensation  of  truth  and  surrounding 
space.  The  tendency  towards  grey  tonality  in  this  painting  is 
manifest:  the  children  wear  dresses  of  green  grey,  and  their  red 
sashes  have  a  tint  of  pale  grey;  the  duchess  wears  a  grey  dress 
with  a  pointed  bodice  of  rose  grey;  the  duke  wears  dark  blue 
which  has  no  tint  of  black  in  it;  the  long  fair  hair  of  the  children 
tends  to  grey  in  its  reflections,  the  floor  is  a  warmer  grey  of  un¬ 
defined  tone,  and  the  group  of  persons  here  painted  is  seen  entirely 
against  a  grey-green  background  which  has  little  in  it  of  green  and 
much  of  grey.  One  colour  alone  stands  out  here;  the  vermilion 


46 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


which  appears  strongly  in  the  collar,  cuffs,  and  the  ribbon  of  the 
duke’s  hat.  Vermilion,  as  is  well  known,  brings  out  the  grey  tones, 
giving  to  each  grey  its  true  value.  This  vermilion  is  the  colour 
which  already  some  years  before  was  occupying  Goya’s  attention, 
and  which  we  saw  in  his  “Self  Portrait”  upon  the  palette,  detached 
from  all  the  others  on  the  right  of  the  white.  This  tendency  of 
Goya  towards  grey,  in  his  productions  of  these  years  and  those 
which  immediately  followed,  is  clearly  manifest.  He  goes  on  re¬ 
fining  these  harmonies,  reducing  the  vermilion  ;  this  last  converts 
itself  into  rose,  and  the  rosy  tone  ends  by  disappearing  altogether 
in  the  portrait  of  Bayeu,  which  may  be  called  pure  grey. 

This  group  of  the  “  Family  of  Osuna”  is  of  known  date. 

Among  the  documents  belonging  to  the  house  of  Osuna  is  a 
list  of  pictures  and  their  prices,  where  we  read:  “Another  large 
picture  by  D.  Francisco  Goya  which  represents  their  Excellencies 
and  their  children,  full  length,  12,000  reales.”  There  is  no  doubt 
that  this  is  the  work  here  mentioned.  This  notice  is  joined  to  a 
document  bearing  the  date  1787. 

A  few  years  later  Goya,  under  the  strong  patronage  of  the 
Osuna  family — especially  the  Duchess  Doña  Maria  Josefa  Pimentel 
Téllez  de  Girón  y  Porja,  Condesa  Duquesa  de  Benavente,  famous 
for  her  riches  and  her  good  taste,  and  the  wife  of  this  Duke  of 
Osuna,  the  ninth  of  his  house  to  bear  the  title — made  portraits 
of  each  of  these  his  patrons.  These  are  half-length  figures.  The 
duke  is  wearing  a  violet  coat,  and  appears  against  a  blue  back¬ 
ground,  his  duchess,  in  a  dress  of  the  period  of  Marie  Antoinette 
of  light  blue,  is  outlined  against  a  greenish  background.  These 
are  two  choice  examples  of  Goya’s  oeuvre,  and  stronger  in  technique 
and  of  superior  handling  than  the  work  in  his  group.  Eortune 
separated  this  pair  of  pictures  in  the  sale  of  the  collection  of  the 
house  of  Osuna;  the  portrait  of  the  duke  found  a  home  in  the 
collection  of  Mr.  Pierpont  Morgan  at  New  York,  and  that  of  the 
duchess  remains  in  the  collection  of  Sr.  Bauer  in  Madrid.  The 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


47 

archives  of  Osuna  contain  also  a  document  which  can  be  connected 
with  these  portraits;  it  runs  as  follows: 

“  Madrid.  i6  July  1785. 

“  D.  Manuel  Cubas  is  commissioned  to  send  an  order  of  pay¬ 
ment  from  His  Excellency  in  favour  of  D.  Francisco  Goya,  painter, 
of  4,800  reales  de  vellón  for  the  two  portraits  which  he  has  made 
of  their  Excellencies.” 

As  this  date,  1785,  is  taken  by  some  as  the  date  of  these  two 
portraits,  I  should  here  state  that  I  consider  this  a  mistake,  and  that 
either  this  date  has  been  misstated  or,  what  is  more  probable,  the 
document  refers  to  other  portraits  which  we  do  not  know.  The 
technique  of  these  two  pictures  indicates  to  us  that  they  are  later 
by  several  years  than  the  year  1785;  and  moreover  this  mistake 
is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  both  these  persons  are  clearly  depicted 
as  older  than  in  the  family  group,  and  this  fact  I  consider  as 
sufficient  and  more  conclusive  than  any  account. 

The  marked  change  of  colour  in  Goya’s  productions  of  these 
years,  and  other  details,  such  as  the  dress  of  the  sitter,  the  disposition 
of  the  figure,  the  character  of  the  landscape  which  serves  as  the 
background,  make  me  place  in  those  last  years  of  the  decade  of 
1780 — although  I  cannot  succeed  in  stating  exactly  the  date — the 
charming  portrait  of  the  Marchesa  de  Casa  Pontejos,  the  wife  of 
D.  Francisco  Moñino,  brother  of  the  famous  Floridablanca  (Plate  9) 
which  is  to-day  preserved  in  her  palace  at  Madrid  by  the  Marquesa 
de  Pontejos.  This  figure  of  Doña  Ana  de  Pontejos,  who  advances 
through  a  park  with  a  carnation  in  her  right  hand,  dressed  in  the 
style  of  Marie  Antoinette  and  preceded  by  a  quaint  little  pug  dog, 
gives  us  the  impression  of  a  French  marquise  who  is  on  her 
way  to  a  fete  at  Versailles.  This  work  in  fact  recalls  the  art  of 
France,  but  more  in  the  lady’s  dress  and  appearance  than  by  its 
technique  and  colouring,  which  is  already  very  Spanish.  The 
background  makes  one  think  of  other  similar  landscape  back- 


48 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


grounds  which  Goya  made  for  his  cartoons  for  the  tapestries  of  the 
royal  factory. 

The  well-informed  art  critic,  Señor  Vegue,  who  studied  this 
portrait,  especially  when  it  was  exhibited  in  the  “  Exhibition  of 
Portraits  of  Spanish  Women  ”  organized  in  Madrid  by  the  Society 
of  Friends  of  Art  in  the  spring  of  1918,  made,  in  an  article  published 
in  “El  Imparcial,”  a  most  telling  observation  in  examining  closely 
in  this  connection  the  influence  of  Greco  upon  Goya.  He  says: 
“This  becomes  clear  in  the  skirt  of  the  Marquesita.  The  red 
priming  of  the  canvas  is  covered  with  zinc  white,  rubbed  thin  in 
some  places  and  painted  heavily  in  others,  and  the  manner  of 
treating  the  flowers  recalls  us  to  that  of  the  surplice  in  the  ‘  Burial 
of  the  Conde  de  Orgaz,’  and  the  roses  in  the  ‘Assumption’  in 
San  Vicente.  Did  Goya  accomplish  the  portrait  in  question 
immediately  after  having  undertaken  in  Toledo  the  ‘Taking  of 
Christ’  which  we  admire  in  the  Sacristy  of  Santa  Iglesia  Primada? 
It  seems  to  me  so;  and  the  dates  do  not  prevent  it,  but  they  even 
confirm  it.”  The  portrait  of  the  Marchesa  de  Casa  Pontejos,  I 
consider,  belongs  to  the  end  of  the  decade  of  1780,  and  Goya  under 
the  date  of  2  July  1788^  speaks  of  the  picture  commissioned  for 
Toledo.  In  this  book  and  later  on  will  be  treated  fully  the  influence, 
which  I  believe  can  be  traced,  of  the  art  of  Greco  upon  Goya. 

I  know  another  portrait  of  this  same  Marquesa  de  Pontejos, 
when  slightly  older  and  also  by  Goya’s  own  hand,  although  I  do 
not  consider  it  a  very  striking  work.  The  Marquesa  wears  here  a 
white  dress.  This  work,  moreover,  is  in  a  poor  state  of  preservation. 
It  was  to  be  seen  in  Madrid  for  sale;  I  do  not  know  its  actual  home 
at  present. 

Some  portraits  should  be  mentioned  here  of  the  first  years  of 
the  decade  of  1790,  which  are  intimately  connected  with  those  of  the 
preceding  years — works  which  are  as  varying  in  their  tendencies  as 
in  their  artistic  merit — but  in  some  of  which  we  are  able  to  trace 

'  See  “Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  p.  35. 


D-  TADEA  ARIAS  DE  ENRIQUEZ 


Plate  XI 


(P-  54) 


■ 


I 


I 

•> 


/ 


I  '  ff¿'‘^\'‘i  /  i> , , 
.  'A.' 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


49 

the  evolution  of  the  artist,  while  others  are  at  the  same  time 
interesting  through  the  persons  they  represent. 

Under  the  date  1790  there  is  a  portrait  of  D.  Martin  Zapater, 
of  which  Zapater,  his  nephew,  makes  mention  in  his  little  book  in 
the  following  terms: 

“  Of  this  same  year  is  one  of  the  portraits  which  I  know  of  my 
uncle,  on  whose  canvas  may  be  read  the  words:  My  friend  Martin 
Zapater,  with  the  greatest  care  and  effort  I  have  made  your  portrait 
Goya  1790.” 

Here  we  come  to  know  the  person  who  was  on  such  intimate 
terms  with  the  painter — he  to  whom  Goya  communicated  before 
anyone  else  every  occurrence,  either  fortunate  or  unlucky,  of  his  life, 
and  frequently  in  the  strictest  confidence,  and  to  whom  he  came  to 
offer  on  a  certain  occasion  amounts  of  relative  importance: 

“  With  the  good  will  which  one  man  can  show  to  another,  and 
little  one  you  and  I  know  that  we  are  agreed  in  everything,  and 
God  has  distinguished  us  from  among  others,  for  which  we  give 
thanks  to  the  Almighty  One.” 

The  portrait  which  he  made  on  this  occasion  was  very  simple 
and  of  slight  importance;  Zapater  appears  before  us  in  half  length, 
seated,  with  some  papers,  on  one  of  which  may  be  read  the  inscrip¬ 
tion  above  quoted,  the  signature,  and  the  date. 

Zapater  possessed  an  extremely  large  nose,  which  explains 
these  lines  in  a  letter  of  Goyas: 

“  Do  not  mock  at  me  with  your  big  nose.  ...  I  am  going  to 
make  them  prepare  the  canvas  for  your  portrait  for  I  shall  not  exist 
until  I  have  accomplished  it.” 

This  portrait  left  Spain;  I  saw  it  in  Paris  some  five  years  ago 
when  it  belonged  to  M.  Durand  Ruel;  I  do  not  know  its  present 
possessor.  In  point  of  technique  it  agrees  with  that  of  the  date 

H 


50 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


assigned  to  it.  It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  it  is  less  advanced 
than  those  mentioned  before,  although  it  shows  no  very  marked 
change.  Much  better  is  the  portrait  of  the  same  sitter  which  Goya 
was  to  make  some  years  later. 

Approximately  in  the  years  of  which  we  are  treating,  I  am  dis¬ 
posed  to  think  that  the  portrait  bust  of  Moratin,  which  is  preserved 
in  the  Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando,  must  have  been  painted. 

I  notice  in  this  the  fineness  of  touch  and  the  tendency  to  grey  tones 
which  characterize  the  work  of  the  artist  in  this  period.  Leandro 
Fernandez  de  Moratin,  who  was  born  in  the  year  1760,  would  have 
been  then  thirty  years  of  age  as  he  is  here  represented.  The  portrait 
is  simple,  of  intimate  character,  and  without  any  pretensions;  but 
the  expression  of  the  sitter’s  face  and  the  fineness  of  the  head  shows 
that  this  work  has  been  done  conscientiously,  with  love  and  care  on 
the  part  of  the  artist.  This  portrait  which,  as  I  have  said,  I  consider 
to  belong  approximately  to  the  year  1790,  and  clearly  shows  itself 
to  have  been  taken  directly  from  nature,  does  not  seem  likely  to 
have  been  later  than  1792,  since  at  that  date  Moratin  undertook  a 
long  journey  to  Paris  first  of  all  and  afterwards  to  London,  and  on 
his  return  both  the  age  of  the  sitter  and  the  technique  of  the  painting 
would  have  been  different  from  those  which  appear  here.  These  were 
the  times  of  the  first  triumphs  of  Moratin;  the  two  dates  above 
mentioned  coincide  respectively  with  the  beginnings  of  “  El  Viejo 
y  la  Niña”  and  “  El  Café.”  Goya  and  Moratin,  men  of  uncommon 
character,  of  exceptional  intelligence,  and  almost  of  the  same  genera¬ 
tion,  were  in  sympathy  in  this  epoch;  and  in  later  years  in  Bordeaux 
— where  the  breakers  of  life’s  sea  had  carried  the  two  glorious  old 
men — they  remembered,  when  Goya  made  the  second  portrait  of 
the  author  of  “El  si  de  las  niñas,”  the  days  of  this  first  portrait  as 
times  of  fullness,  of  life,  and  of  hope. 

The  first  relations  with  Moratin  and  with  the  group  of  his 
friends  who  represented  the  progressive  movement  which  came 
from  France,  and  the  fact  that  at  this  time  Goya  devoted  himself 


LA  TIRANA 


Plate  XII 


(P-  59) 


W¿.\ 


‘} 


/ 


■,  f 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


51 


to  learning  French  are,  as  it  were,  preludes  to  this  change  of  his 
character,  of  his  manner  of  existence,  and  even  of  his  whole  life, 
which  can  be  noted  in  later  years.  With  this  change  there  becomes 
apparent  in  the  artist  a  certain  pessimism,  and  even  his  health 
passed  through  a  critical  stage.  He  wrote  to  Zapater  at  that  time: 

“  I  am  growing  old,  with  so  many  wrinkles  that  you  would 
not  know  me  save  for  my  snub  nose  and  my  deepset  eyes  .  .  .  what 
is  certain  is  that  I  am  showing  my  forty  years  very  much,  and  you 
perhaps  are  as  well  preserved  as  when  at  school.” 

Zapater,  who,  in  his  short  work,  says  on  several  occasions  that 
the  character  of  Goya  was  simple,  his  beliefs  firmly  rooted,  his  love 
for  his  family  a  part  of  his  intimate  nature,  and  his  aspirations 
modest,  notices  the  change  which  we  are  indicating  in  these  years 
in  the  art  of  the  painter — a  change  which  was  undoubtedly  taking 
place  at  the  same  time  in  his  character;  he  says: 

“Up  to  the  year  1789,  by  which  time  Goya  occupied  a  more 
independent  position  and  possessed  a  name  very  well  known,  there 
is  no  very  notable  variation  to  be  found  in  his  ideas.  In  the  date 
just  mentiond  his  correspondence  shows  that  the  change  which  can 
be  traced  in  the  society  of  Madrid  had  awakened  in  the  Aragonese 
artist  other  desires,  wider  aspirations.” 

This  evolution— this  crisis  of  Goya’s  life — was,  as  everything 
was  in  him,  of  slow  development.  It  did  not  come,  as  we  see,  until 
forty  years  of  his  life  had  passed;  but  as  far  as  his  art  is  concerned, 
this  change  determines  a  transformation  in  a  reflective  sense,  and 
especially  in  what  belongs  to  his  work  as  a  portrait  painter  it  brings 
with  it  a  marked  progress,  as  we  shall  notice  in  detail  later. 

On  28  August  in  the  year  1790  he  made  a  journey  to 
Valencia  to  accompany  his  wife,  for  whom  a  change  of  sea  air  had 
been  prescribed.  He  did  not  stay  there  very  long.  This  date  of 


52 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


1790,  a  year  later  than  that  in  which  Goya  completed  the  two 
religious  pictures  destined  for  the  chapel  of  Borja  in  the  cathedral 
of  that  city  ^  makes  us  suspect  that  he  may  have  gone  there  also  to 
install  and  arrange  his  paintings  in  their  places.  It  is  known  that 
Goya  took  a  rest  during  those  months,  that  he  was  frequently 
hunting  in  Albufera,  but  that  even  so  he  did  some  work  in  that 
period. 

With  this  same  year  and  journey  may  be  connected  the  por¬ 
trait  of  a  supposed  housekeeper,  Dona  Joaquina  Candado,  preserved 
in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Valencia,  a  person  whom  it  has 
been  sought  to  connect — in  my  opinion  erroneously — with  the 
famous  “  Maja  Desnuda.”  The  reasons  on  which  I  have  based  my 
opinion  have  been  published  in  my  work,  “  Las  Majas  de  Goya,” 
and  I  need  not  dwell  on  them  here.  The  story  has  been  handed 
down  that  this  work  was  commenced  by  Goya  in  the  open  air  in 
the  grounds  of  the  Patriarch  of  Burjasot,  where  he  had  been  to 
enjoy  a  paella,  the  dish  of  the  pro\'ince,  to  which  he  had  been 
invited  by  some  Valencian  friends,  and  that  it  was  finished  the 
day  following  in  his  house.  To  this  same  year  1790,  during  his 
stay  in  Valencia,  are  attributed  the  portrait  v  Inch  Goya  made  of 
D.  Mariano  Ferrer,  the  secretary  of  the  local  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  and  of  the  Archbishop  D.  Joaquin  Company,  both  preserved 
in  that  city — the  second  of  these  in  the  parish  church  of  San 
Martin,  to  which  a  charitable  person  who  had  inherited  it  from 
the  Archbishop,  gave  it. 

A  few  months  later  Goya  went  eastwards,  since  a  writing  -  in 
his  hand  e.xists  dated  from  Zaragoza,  30  October  of  this  same  year 
1790,  e.xpressing  his  thanks  for  having  been  elected  a  member  of 
the  Academy  of  San  Carlos  de  Valencia. 

Always  with  this  tendency  to  keep  the  note  of  grey,  there 

*  See  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  p.  33. 

^  Reproduced  by  Manuel  González  Marti  in  his  article  “Goya  and  Valencia,” 
published  in  “Museum,”  1913. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


53 


exists  a  portrait  of  a  boy  with  fair  skin,  dressed  in  a  chestnut-coloured 
coat  with  white  stockings,  and  seen  against  a  background  of  clear 
grey.  An  inscription  on  the  canvas  says:  “His  Excellency 
D.  Vicente  Osorio  Conde  de  Trastamara,  at  the  age  of  ten  years. — 
Goya.”  This  is  a  very  delicate  work,  but  not  a  very  strong  one. 
The  head  in  full  light  (this  represents  a  novelty  and  marks  the 
tendency  to  avoid  contrasts  and  deep  shadows)  is  well  modelled 
and  refined  in  colour;  the  hands  are  weak,  and  weak  too  is  the 
little  dog  seen  on  the  left  of  the  person  represented.  This  portrait  be¬ 
longs  to  the  Marquesa  de  Castrillo  (Madrid),  and  comes,  I  am  told, 
from  a  house  in  Galicia  (that  of  the  steward  of  the  family  of  the 
sitter),  where  they  think  that  the  picture  was  some  years  later  than 
the  date  at  which  I  place  it.  From  its  technique  this  seems  to  me 
its  place,  and  it  could  be  very  little  later,  since  the  fashion  repre¬ 
sented  so  distinctly  in  the  dress  of  this  boy  changed  very  soon  after. 

Equally  little  known  is  the  other  beautiful  portrait,  dated 
1792,  of  D.  Sebastián  Martinez  (Plate  10).  I  do  not  know  if  the 
person  here  treated  is  the  collector  of  Cadiz  of  those  years;  it  is 
probable  that  this  is  so.  It  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  those  simple 
portraits  of  an  intimate  character  which  a  few  years  later  Goya 
brought  together  and  refined  in  his  portrait  of  his  brother-in-law 
Bayeu,  leaving  us  for  ever  here  a  masterpiece  as  unique  as  it  is 
powerful.  Seated,  his  body  seen  in  profile,  his  head  turned  three- 
quarters  and  looking  at  the  spectator,  “  D.  Sebastián  Martinez,  by 
his  friend  Goya,  1792,”  as  we  are  told  by  a  paper  which  he  holds 
in  his  left  hand,  dressed  in  a  blue  coat  with  light  stripes  and  yellow 
breeches  of  buckskin,  as  the  sitter  comes  before  us  with  a  truth 
which  seems  reality  itself.  The  background  is  dark  grey  and 
harmonizes  as  many  colours  as  are  in  the  portrait,  dominating 
them  all,  notwithstanding,  by  the  note  of  grey.  This  work  was  in 
Paris  lately  in  the  Trotti  Galley. 

Similar  to  the  preceding,  and  perhaps  more  important  even 
while  less  suggestive,  is  the  portrait  of  another  friend  of  Goya, 


54 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


D.  Tomas  Pérez  Estala,  a  native  of  Aragon,  who  had  married  a 
lady  of  Segovia  and  had  spent  a  great  part  of  his  life  in  Segovia 
as  manager  of  a  cloth  factory.  His  descendants  appear  to  have  been 
on  friendly  relations  with  the  General  D.  Joaquin  Bouligny.  The 
ensemble  of  this  portrait  is  cold;  moreover,  it  has  suffered  extensive 
restoration,  and  all  this  detracts  from  its  general  appearance. 

Goya  represents  his  friend  in  half  length,  front  view,  wearing 
a  blue  cloth  coat,  a  white  waistcoat,  and  white  neck-cloth  with  red 
stripes,  with  black  breeches  and  seated  on  a  divan  of  yellow  damask. 
All  this  with  grey  suggestions  and  outlined  against  a  plain  wall 
of  cold  grey  tone.  The  head,  even  though  lightly  painted  and  of 
brick  red  tones,  is  of  great  character. 

I  consider  that  the  works  just  mentioned  suffice  to  make  us 
appreciate  the  evolution  of  the  artist.  They  are  indeed  typical 
w'orks  of  Goya,  which  are  in  no  way  reminiscent  of  Mengs,  and 
but  little  of  the  works  of  Goya  himself  in  preceding  years. 

Among  his  portraits  of  women  at  this  stage  of  his  development 
must  be  remembered  a  very  choice  work  in  the  portrait  of  Doña 
Tadea  Arias  de  Enric^uez  (No.  740  of  the  catalogue)  of  the  Museo 
del  Prado  (Plate  ii).  Refined  and  simple,  the  moving  sympathetic 
figure  of  Doña  Tadea  contrasts  with  all  those  rigid,  conventional, 
detailed  portraits  which  had  been  painted  in  Spain  for  the  last 
century.  Perhaps  it  may  seem  too  bold  to  state  that  this  portrait, 
though  quite  of  its  own  period,  recalls  in  some  points  the  works 
of  Velazquez  which  are  so  typical  of  his  own  epoch,  that  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  When  Goya  had  to  paint  the  likeness  of  this 
gracious  and  sympathetic  person  he  did  not  have  in  his  mind  the 
portraits  of  women  of  the  Spanish  painter  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  earlier,  and  nevertheless  there  is  something  in  this  work 
which  connects  it  with  those  other  Spanish  portraits;  and  this  is 
not  through  the  spirit  which  animates  it,  nor  through  its  essential 
nature,  but  through  its  ultimate  expression,  through  its  pictorial 
diction,  through  its  purity  of  style,  through  its  spontaneity,  as 


MARQUESA  DE  LA  SOLANA 


Plate  XIII 


(p.  6o) 


*Á 


*.  *! 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


55 


directly  Spanish  in  its  manifestation  as  are  the  similar  portraits 
of  Velazquez.  To  be  able  to  define,  to  express  completely  in  a 
phrase,  in  a  word,  the  wherefore  of  the  Spanish  character  of  this 
work,  as  of  so  many  others,  and  to  deduce  from  it  the  characteristic 
note  of  our  painting  would  certainly  be  an  admirable  thing,  but 
I  think  at  the  same  time  it  would  trench  upon  the  ground  of  con¬ 
trovertible  and  confused  abstractions.  Pictorial  diction  is  like  an 
idiom  of  speech  constituted  by  a  series  of  details,  of  tints  giving 
it  a  result  which  makes  it  different  from  others,  and  this  result 
may  be  understood  or  not,  but  is  incapable  of  precise  definition. 

I  make  this  observation  before  this  portrait  because  it  is  one  of 
the  first  of  Goya’s  in  which,  forgetting  the  art  he  had  learnt,  he  shows 
in  a  spontaneous  moment  clearly  and  manifestly  those  qualities 
characterizing  the  Spanish  school.  The  portrait  of  Floridablanca,  for 
instance,  could  be  the  work  of  a  Spaniard,  or  of  Mengs,  or  of  any  one 
whatever  of  his  Italian  or  German  imitators;  this  Doña  Tadea 
speaks  to  us  in  Spanish  with  that  pure  unmistakable  accent  which 
cannot  be  learnt.  Compare  this  work  with  other  similar  works, 
similar  in  subject,  by  Rubens  or  Rembrandt,  Titian  or  Nattier,  or 
any  other  great  foreign  portraitist;  and  immediately,  with  no  great 
effort,  you  will  see  the  difference.  And  having  once  established  this 
distinction,  and  determined  the  school  to  which  this  work  belongs 
and  makes  it  entirely  separate  from  the  others,  we  ought,  carrying 
our  analysis  still  further,  to  recognize  the  unique  relation  which  it 
has  with  foreign  creations.  In  the  midst  of  its  purely  Spanish 
character  this  portrait  has  a  relation  with  something  outside,  with 
something  which  has  nothing  essentially  Spanish  in  it — with  the 
productions  of  English  portrait  painters  who  were  Goya’s  contem¬ 
poraries.  But  the  time  has  not  yet  come  to  treat  this  point,  and 
the  analogies  which  works  of  the  same  epoch  offer;  I  believe  that  we 
shall  grasp  it  better  when  we  come  to  study  the  portrait  of  Conde  de 
Fernán  Núñez,  a  work  later  by  a  good  many  years  than  this  present 
one. 


56 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


The  portrait  of  Doña  Tadea  Arias  de  Enriquez  is  suggestive, 
but  it  is  not  one  of  the  strongest  of  this  epoch  of  Goya.  Its  key¬ 
note  is  grey;  the  rose,  the  colour  of  her  skirt,  is  softened  by  the 
gauze  which  covers  it  completely,  and  the  greens  of  the  landscape 
background  are  kept  very  low  in  tone.  The  wide  ribbon,  which 
forms  her  waistband,  and  a  large  bow,  constitute  a  precious  black 
note,  giving  its  full  value  to  the  colour  of  this  portrait.  The  black, 
which  will  eventually  represent  in  the  works  of  Goya’s  last  years 
what  the  vermilion  represents  in  those  of  his  middle  life — the  tone 
to  which  everything  is  subordinated  and  is  brought  into  relation — 
makes  me  wonder  sometimes  whether  this  portrait  may  not  be  later 
than  I  have  thought,  and  whether  its  true  place  may  be  where  I 
have  mentioned  it. 

To  judge  by  the  age  at  which  the  monarchs  are  painted,  this 
is  the  place  to  permit  ourselves  to  mention  that  pair  of  portraits 
of  the  king  and  queen,  three-quarter  length  figures,  recalling  to  a 
great  extent  the  numerous  portraits  attributed  to  Goya  and  of 
which  I  have  spoken  in  the  last  chapter.  Those  which  I  am  now 
mentioning  are  unquestionably  later,  but  previous  to  the  year  1794. 
Their  technique  seems  equally  to  show  this;  they  are  unquestionably 
more  advanced,  much  more  free,  more  masterful;  they  are  slight  in 
their  execution,  and  in  them  the  artist  shows  that  he  has  progressed, 
and  has  made  the  best  combination  of  his  oil  ¡)igments. 

These  portraits  arc  j)rescrvcd  in  the  collection  of  the  Marques 
de  Casa  Torres  (Madrid). 

In  the  Museum  of  Bilbao  is  preserved  a  portrait  likeness,  very 
free  in  its  execution,  of  the  Queen  iMaria  Luisa.  It  is  a  pity  that 
in  this  work  the  head  has  suffered  a  lamentable  restoration,  a 
complete  re-painting  destroying  the  fine  ensemble,  which,  to  judge 
by  the  rest  of  the  figures,  this  portrait  must  have  at  one  time 
possessed. 

Beautiful  from  every  point  of  view  is  the  oval  in  which  Goya 
had  represented  I).  Ramón  de  la  Posada  y  Soto,  a  person  who 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


57 


occupied  in  Cadiz,  in  the  year  1812,  the  Presidency  of  the  Supreme 
Tribunal  of  Justice.  Against  a  dark  background  of  grey-green  is 
seen  the  seated  figure  of  this  sitter,  who  wears  a  dark  green  coat 
upon  which  the  cross  of  Charles  III  is  apparent,  and  a  light  figured 
waistcoat.  It  is  a  very  admirable  work,  but  one  not  showing  in 
any  precise  manner  what  could  be  its  date.  It  has  been  painted 
upon  prepared  ground  of  clear  reddish  tone,  precisely  that  which 
is  used  by  Goya  in  these  works  characterized  by  their  grey  tones; 
a  preparation  much  less  dark,  although  more  intense,  than  that  red 
used  by  him  in  previous  years,  and  which  he  came  to  use  again  in 
his  canvases  painted  after  1795. 

The  famous  architect,  D.  Juan  de  Villanueva — author  of  so 
many  plans  and  constructor  of  so  many  buildings  in  Madrid  at 
this  time,  among  them  that  one  which  was  designed  for  a  Museum 
of  Natural  History,  and  which  is  to-day  the  Museo  del  Prado — had 
been  born  in  1731,  and  in  the  years  we  are  studying  in  this  chapter 
was  between  sixty  and  seventy;  as  such  he  is  represented  in  the 
strong  and  masterly  portrait  Goya  made  of  him,  and  which  is 
to-day  preserved  in  the  Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando. 

In  the  years  which  precede  1794  the  correspondence,  or  at 
least  the  letters  which  have  come  down  to  us,  directed  by  Goya  to 
Zapater,  are  less  frequent  and  less  interesting  than  those  of  previous 
periods.  On  23  April  of  the  year  just  mentioned  there  is  one  which 
throws  some  light  on  the  painter  Esteve  and  his  relations  with 
Goya.  It  is  as  follows: 

“  I  also  would  like  you  to  tell  me  if  you  happen  to  see  a 
miniature  painting  which  has  been  done  for  the  Conde  de  Sástago 
of  Doña  Ramon  Pignatelli  what  you  think  of  it,  for  it  was  done  by 
Esteve  who  has  turned  out  to  be  an  easy  painter  of  excellent 
miniatures,  and  I  hope  you  will  like  it  as  much  as  I  do,  for  I  have 
been  the  means  of  his  painting  in  this  method,  for  I  have  read  in 
his  appearance,  although  he  did  not  know  it  himself  that  he  had 

I 


S8 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


this  talent,  and  I  can  tell  you  if  you  were  here  I  should  make  him 
paint  me  one  of  you,  and  take  it  about  in  a  box.  I  am  about  the 
same  as  regards  to  my  health,  at  times  raging  with  such  bad  temper 
that  I  cannot  bear  myself,  at  other  times  more  calm,  as  at  the  present 
moment  when  I  take  my  pen  to  write  to  you,  and  am  already 
getting  tired,  so  that  I  will  only  tell  you  that  on  Monday  if  God 
wills  I  shall  go  to  the  bull  fight,  and  I  should  like  you  to  accompany 
me,  for  the  next  Monday  although  you  should  tell  me  some 
nonsense  about  having  gone  mad.  Thy  Paco.” 

In  1794  is  dated  the  portrait  of  the  illustrious  jurisconsult. 
Colon  de  Larriategui,  which,  after  having  belonged  to  more  than 
one  collection  in  Madrid,  passed  out  of  our  country.  The  sitter,  a 
Knight  of  Santiago,  with  blue  uniform  and  silver  braid,  a  red 
waistcoat  with  silver  and  black  breeches,  painted  three-quarter 
length,  seated  almost  in  profile,  and  turning  slightly  his  head 
towards  the  spectator,  with  a  pen  in  his  right  hand,  lets  it  be  known 
that  he  is  the  author  of  the  open  book  which  lies  upon  a  table,  on 
the  first  page  of  which  is  to  be  read:  “  Military  Tribunals  of  Spain 
by  D.  PTlix  Colón  de  Larriategui.”  The  date  of  the  picture  appears 
more  in  the  background  on  a  sheet  of  paper.  Considering  the 
relative  importance  of  this  portrait  it  is  not  very  strong  or  typical; 
it  must  have  been  made  in  one  of  those  days  on  which,  as  Goya 
said  in  his  letter  just  quoted,  he  was  in  such  a  bad  temper  that  he 
could  not  bear  himself.  The  observations  I  am  making  with  regard 
to  this  portrait  are  of  a  relative  character,  since  it  is  very  fine  in 
parts;  nor  must  we  forget  that  it  belongs  to  a  very  important  and 
masterly  period  of  its  author’s  career. 

In  fact,  this  date  1794,  or  perhaps  the  year  following,  re¬ 
presents  the  moment  at  which  the  production  of  the  artist  rose  to 
its  highest  point,  and  when  the  importance  of  those  grey  tones 
which  had  for  some  time  been  insistently  developing  becomes 
completely  dominant. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


59 


Dated  in  the  year  last  mentioned  is  the  first  of  the  portraits  of 
“  La  Tirana.”  I  say  the  first  because  there  are  two  of  these.  I  shall 
speak  of  the  second,  where  the  model  appears  at  a  more  advanced 
age,  when  we  come  to  study  the  date  to  which  I  believe  it  belongs. 

“Maria  del  Rosario,  La  Tirana  Por  Goya — 1794”  (Plate  12). 
This  is  what  we  are  told  by  the  paper  the  sitter  holds  in  her  left 
hand.  This  date  coincides  with  the  year  in  which  Maria  del  Rosario 
was  leading  lady  of  the  company  of  which  Manuel  Martinez  was 
director,  and  which  was  playing  in  the  Teatro  del  Principe.  La 
Tirana  was  leading  lady  in  the  period  between  April  1792  and 
the  end  of  the  year  1794,  when  her  place  was  taken  by  Andrea  Luna. 
The  company  in  which  Maria  del  Rosario  was  acting  was  of  great 
importance,  and  in  it  Antonio  Robles  took  the  lead  as  lover,  and 
Rita  Luna  was  understudying  for  leading  lady. 

Of  middle  height,  standing  erect  and  facing  the  spectator, 
with  her  beautiful  long  hair  loose  and  falling  over  her  shoulders, 
and  without  other  adornment  on  her  head  save  some  flowers,  the 
famous  actress  presents  herself  to  us  in  this  first  portrait  which 
Goya  made  of  her  with  a  simplicity  and  reality  which  appeal  to  us 
directly.  All  here  is  grey,  perhaps  even  exaggerated  grey,  giving  a 
certain  monotony  to  this  work  which  none  the  less  is  most  beautiful 
from  many  points  of  view.  Grey  is  the  background,  grey  is  the 
general  tone  of  the  dress  resulting  from  a  yellow  completely  covered 
by  white  gauze.  The  flesh  tones  are  of  a  truth  coming  very  near 
to  perfection.  The  left  hand,  the  only  one  which  appears,  is 
admirable  in  drawing,  in  delicacy,  and  in  colour;  this  hand,  slightly 
clenched,  is  real  flesh.  This  work  belongs  to  the  Marquesa  de 
Valdeolmos  (Madrid).  It  should  be  remembered  as  an  interesting 
fact  that  in  this  portrait,  which  appeared  in  the  exhibition  of  Goya’s 
works  in  1900,  the  inscription  at  that  time  did  not  run  precisely  as 
it  does  now.  The  date  and  signature  were  the  same,  but  not  so 
the  name  of  the  sitter.  She  was  called  then  “  Doña  Maria  de  las 
Mercedes  Fernández,”  and  it  has  been  diseovered  that  all  this  part 


6o 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


had  been  repainted.  Cleverly  cleaned  later,  the  true  name  then 
appeared  “  Maria  del  Rosario,  La  Tirana,”  which  is,  as  above  stated, 
what  the  picture  shows  to-day.  I  relate  this  because,  apart  from  the 
curious  fact  of  the  change  of  name  made  by  its  old  possessor,  the 
photograph  of  the  picture  in  the  first  edition  of  this  book  dated 
from  the  exhibition  of  1900,  and  on  it  appeared  as  it  was  then  the 
mistaken  inscription  differing  from  what  the  original  shows  to-day; 
the  latter  being  the  one  seen  in  the  phototype  which  appeared  in  this 
book  in  its  second  edition,  made  expressly  for  it,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  “Exhibition  of  Portraits  of  Spanish  Women”  held  in 
Madrid  in  1918,  in  which  this  portrait  figured  among  the  most 
notable  works  then  exhibited. 

To  this  year  1794  or  the  one  following,  as  I  have  already 
mentioned,  I  consider  that  the  two  best  portraits  belong  which 
Goya  made  in  his  scheme  of  grey,  those  of  the  Marquesa  de  la 
Solana  and  of  Bayeu.  They  are  the  most  advanced  in  technique 
and  in  the  handling  of  tones  of  this  phase  of  their  author;  and 
since  they  have  both  very  evidently  been  taken  from  life,  and 
both  the  sitters  died  in  the  year  1795,  I  think  that  with  reasonable 
certainty  we  can  place  them  as  above,  and  attribute  to  them  the 
date  I  have  mentioned. 

Doña  Rita  Barrenechea  y  Morante,  Marquesa  de  la  Solana, 
wife  of  the  Conde  del  Carpió,  is  seen  standing  upright,  with  her 
hands  crossed,  giving  us  the  impression  of  a  lady  who  is  attractive 
and  sympathetic,  although  not  beautiful  (Plate  13).  She  was  a 
woman  of  intelligence  and  of  artistic  tastes,  devoted  to  literature 
and  especially  to  poetry.  Her  portrait,  one  of  the  most  admirable 
of  Goya’s  works,  must  have  been  painted  a  very  little  time  before 
the  death  of  the  Marquesa,  which  took  place  on  29  November  1795, 
when  she  was  still  a  young  w’oman.  Her  figure  is  seen  against  a 
background  of  diffused  grey,  delicate  in  tone,  which  in  no  way 
interferes  with  it,  and  seems  to  represent  a  grey-blue  sky  with  a 
very  low  horizon,  somewhat  more  obscure  and  contrasting  with  the 


FRANCISCO  BAYEU 


Plate  XIV 


(p.  6i) 


I 

r 


.ftlAl 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


6i 


ground,  the  note  of  tone  being  lighter  and  always  grey.  This  work 
does  not  contain  any  brilliant  effect;  it  is  delicacy  itself,  quite  in 
keeping  with  the  complexion  and  frail  aspect  of  this  lady,  who 
seems  to  have  centred  all  her  short  life  into  a  look.  She  wears  a 
dress  of  black  velvet,  and,  falling  from  her  head,  covering  her  body, 
has  a  white  mantilla  of  quiet  tones  which  strikes  a  middle  note, 
with  white  gloves  and  a  closed  fan ;  white  shoes  with  black  bows 
cover  her  tiny  feet,  and  as  her  ornament  she  carries  nothing 
save  a  bow  of  faint  rose,  as  dead,  as  pale  as  the  head  which  it 
adorns,  and  some  little  humble  flowers,  which  in  no  way  jar  upon 
a  composition  as  faultless  as  it  is  modest.  The  work  can  be  quoted 
as  a  typical  example  of  Spanish  painting.  Not  long  ago  it  passed 
into  the  collection  of  Sr.  Beistegui  (Paris),  coming  there  from  the 
testamentary  estate  of  the  Marqués  del  Socorro,  great-grandson 
of  the  sitter.  It  reached  in  the  sale  the  figure  of  500,000  francs. 

Of  the  same  period  exactly  as  the  last  portrait  is  that  seated 
half-figure  in  which  Goya  represented  his  brother-in-law,  the  painter 
Francisco  Bayeu,  who  died,  like  the  Marquesa  de  la  Solana,  in  the 
year  1795.  It  appears  in  the  Museo  del  Prado,  No.  721  of  the 
catalogue  (Plate  14).  The  canvas,  or  to  speak  more  correctly  the 
preparation  of  the  canvas,  as  can  be  noticed  in  some  parts  not 
entirely  covered,  is  grey  very  slightly  tinted  with  red,  much  lighter 
than  that  employed  later  by  the  artist  and  identical  with  that  of  the 
portrait  of  the  Solana.  I  consider  this  head  of  Bayeu,  besides  being 
a  piece  of  painting  of  unequalled  sensibility,  as  a  marvellous  lesson 
of  technique,  seeing  that  in  full  light  without  any  shadow,  the 
darkest  point  being  the  pupils  of  the  eyes,  there  has  been  obtained 
notwithstanding  a  perfect  modelling,  and  this  only  with  middle 
tints.  Even  when  it  might  seem  done  in  a  slight  manner  this  is 
not  so.  The  mellow  softness  of  that  head  has  not  been  obtained  at 
the  first  touch;  everything  has  been  studied  in  order  to  attain 
its  fine  quality  in  character;  and  the  lines  of  the  profile,  of  the  eyes 
and  of  the  mouth,  with  the  object  of  their  not  being  lost,  were  drawn 


Ó2 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


over  the  canvas  with  pen  and  ink.  This  remarkable  detail  can  be 
traced  when  the  picture  is  seen  in  a  very  strong  light.  But  this 
head,  which  has  been  so  carefully  worked  out,  was  then  simplified 
later,  giving  the  sensation  of  a  piece  of  easy  spontaneous  work  and 
obtaining  a  note  of  unique  delicacy.  And,  however  admirable  this 
head,  no  less  beautiful  is  the  rest  of  the  work,  by  the  side  of  which 
all  other  painting  seems  hard  and  dry.  Certain  careless  details,  like 
the  drawing  of  the  left  arm  of  the  sitter  and  the  perspective  of  the 
armchair  with  its  two  unequal  arms,  are  Goyesque  inaccuracies, 
which  may  be  passed  over.  As  to  the  colouring  here,  vermilion  is 
absolutely  proscribed;  all  is  grey,  but  with  a  supreme  correctness. 
The  coat  with  its  leaden  reflections  does  not  appear  metallic, 
but  gives  us  just  the  sensation  of  its  material;  and  all  these  greys 
are  related,  differentiated,  and  brought  into  their  true  values  one 
with  the  other.  This  work  is  a  triumph  of  painting,  and  can  be 
considered  as  one  of  the  finest  harmonies  of  grey  art  has  ever 
produced. 

The  constant  continuation  of  this  note  would  have  become 
monotonous.  When  we  have  noted  that  there  had  been  attained  by 
Goya  at  the  same  time  as  this  scheme  of  colour  an  absolute  mastery 
and  power  of  technique,  we  shall  pass  on  to  study  the  productions 
of  the  painter  in  the  following  years,  and  shall  remember  in  so 
doing  especially  those  works,  so  rich  in  colour,  of  five  years  later, 
of  1800,  to  which  date  can  approximately  be  related  the  portraits 
of  the  court;  but  before  doing  so  we  shall  bring  forward,  even  when 
they  can  merely  be  mentioned,  several  portraits  of  varying  merit, 
and  showing  a  most  fruitful  production  in  those  years  which  were 
for  him  years  of  glory  and  of  gain. 

Another  portrait  of  Bayeu  must  be  recorded  here  which  is 
preserved  in  the  Museum  of  Valencia.  It  is  a  beautiful  work:  some, 
especially  the  natives  of  Valencia,  who  are  justly  proud  of  it,  con¬ 
sider  it  more  powerful  than  that  of  Madrid.  Perhaps  the  head  is 
indeed  more  luminous:  I  believe  this  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  rest 


Plate  XV 


FRANCISCO  JAVIER  GOYA  (Son  OF  THE  Artist) 


(p.  65) 


n '  f’  V.  '  p' 

M,  '  i 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


63 


of  the  picture,  being  darker,  gives  more  effect  to  the  head.  Even 
though  this  is  the  same  in  both  portraits  the  rest  of  the  painting 
has  variations,  not  only  in  the  colour  but  in  the  position  of  the 
sitter,  for  in  that  of  Valencia  he  is  seen  standing  upright,  with  a 
canvas  in  front  of  him.  I  consider  this  work,  which  is  dated  1786, 
as  eight  or  nine  years  anterior  to  that  in  Madrid.  The  difference  of 
age  which  the  sitter  shows  seems  to  confirm  the  dates  just  men¬ 
tioned.  This  work  was  given  to  the  Fine  Arts  of  Valencia  by 
D.  Benito  Monfort  in  the  year  1851. 

There  are  two  portraits  of  unknown  ladies,  foreign  in  their 
appearance  and  colour,  in  which  black  and  white  are  given  dominant 
note;  foreign  too  is  the  dress  of  the  sitters,  seeming  to  hint  at  a 
passing  fashion,  as  we  see  it  but  little  repeated  in  other  portraits 
of  this  period.  One  of  them,  in  the  Van  Geldern  collection  in 
Belgium,  is  a  beautiful  work.  With  these  can  be  connected  another 
portrait  of  a  lady,  which,  although  weaker  than  those  just  mentioned, 
is  none  the  less  considered  by  some  connoisseurs  an  authentic  work 
by  Goya.  This  was  in  the  Palace  of  Riofrio,  and  has  since  been 
transferred  to  another  royal  residence. 

I  will  mention  three  portraits  of  ladies  possessing  a  certain 
general  similarity.  One  of  these  is  of  the  Doña  Maria  Ignacia 
Alvarez  de  Toledo,  Marquesa  de  Astorga,  Condesa  de  Altamira, 
and  her  daughter,  a  baby  girl  whom  she  holds  on  her  knee.  It 
is  a  beautiful  portrait,  but  has  been  much  damaged  and  to-day  is 
in  a  dirty  condition ;  another  is  that  of  Doña  Maria  Teresa  Apodaca 
de  Sesma  in  a  light  dress  seated,  and  that  of  the  Marquesa  de  Casa 
Flores,  in  white,  two  works  of  great  delicacy.  Both  these  portraits 
left  Spain  a  few  years  ago:  the  former  was  formerly  in  the  State 
Gallery  of  Vienna,  and  has  since  found  its  way  into  a  New  York 
collection. 

Of  interest  likewise  is  the  half-length  portrait  of  a  seated 
figure,  said  to  represent  the  wife  of  Ceán  Bermiidez.  She  is  busied 
on  some  needlework  on  a  large  cushion.  The  face  of  this  lady  is 


04 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


expressive  rather  than  beautiful;  the  dress  and  the  blue  trimming, 
the  best  part  of  the  picture,  have  been  painted  with  much  grace  and 
lightness  of  touch.  This  work  when  some  years  ago  in  Madrid  was 
dirty,  and  the  colour  cracking  in  several  places.  I  was  able  to  see 
it  later  in  Budapest  in  the  National  Museum,  where  it  is  admirably 
preserved,  cleaned,  and  restored. 

Another  portrait  of  a  lady,  which  ought  to  be  mentioned  here, 
is  one  representing  the  Marquesa  de  Bajamar;  and  no  less  so  two 
others  which  I  do  not  know,  that  of  the  Duquesa  de  Castroterreño, 
mentioned  with  approval  by  some  critics,  and  that  of  the  Marquesa 
de  Espeja,  this  last  in  the  possession  of  the  Duque  de  Valencia 
(Madrid). 

With  respect  to  portraits  of  men:  the  enumeration  of  those 
which  can  be  attributed  to  these  years  would  be  too  large,  and  it  is 
more  convenient  to  place  these  in  the  catalogue  than  to  treat  them 
in  this  chapter.  We  need  here  remind  our  readers  only  of  the  one 
said  to  be  of  Gasparini,  a  very  delicate  and  expressive  head,  those 
of  Camarón  and  Melia,  and  of  the  engraver  Carmona,  in  private 
collections  in  Paris.  With  regard  to  this  last  it  is  possible  from 
the  age  of  the  sitter  to  fix  the  date  of  the  portrait;  but  it  has  so 
happened  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  decide  which  of  the  three 
Carmonas,  who  were  engravers  at  approximately  the  same  period,  is 
the  one  whose  portrait  is  painted  here.  It  seems  nevertheless 
probable  that  this  may  be  the  most  famous  of  them,  Salvador 
Carmona,  who,  born  in  1730,  died  in  1807. 

Dated  1797  is  a  portrait  I  know  of  by  Goya  of  some  interest, 
preserved  in  the  Groult  collection  (Paris);  on  it  appears  the  following 
inscription:  “  D.n  Bernardo  Iriarte  Vice  prot.r  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  the  three  noble  arts.  Painted  by  Goya  in  testimony  of 
mutual  esteem  and  affection.  The  year  of  1797.”  Although  the  head 
is  well  drawn  and  it  is  a  well-thought-out  and  very  complete  portrait, 
it  is  more  interesting  in  every  way  as  a  document  than  as  a  work 
of  art. 


PEDRO  ROMERO 


Plate  XVI 


(p.  69) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  65 

Lastly,  before  I  finish  this  chapter,  the  study  of  the  produc¬ 
tions  of  Goya  in  his  grey  note,  should  be  mentioned  the  portrait 
of  “  L’homme  gris  ”  (Plate  15),  very  famous  in  Paris,  although  not 
generally  well  known.  This  “  Grey  Man  ”  is  no  other  than  the  son 
of  Goya  (not  the  grandson,  as  has  been  sometimes  wrongly  stated) 
represented  in  this  portrait,  which  is  so  admirable  for  its  delicacy  of 
treatment,  as  dressed  in  grey  against  a  grey  background,  with 
white  waistcoat  and  cravat  and  yellow  gloves.  Best  in  this  work 
are  the  head  and  the  white  portions.  The  dog  here  depicted  is  the 
weakest  part,  even  when  he  comes  out  well  as  a  note  of  colour. 
This  portrait  is  in  the  possession  of  M.  Eerdinand  Bischoffsheim 
(Paris). 

In  the  same  hands  is  to  be  found  the  portrait  said  to  be  the 
pendant  of  this  last,  representing  the  wife  of  young  Goya.  This  is 
hard  and  ordinary,  a  work  undoubtedly  authentic  but  not  very 
successful.  According  to  Lefort  it  would  treat  of  the  same 
person  whose  portrait  was  engraved  by  her  father-in-law  in  1805, 
an  engraving  which  Lefort  himself  published  as  the  portrait  of 
Doña  Gumersinda  Goicoechea,  wife  of  the  son  of  Goya. 

Likewise  in  the  possession  of  M.  Bischoffsheim  is  the  portrait 
of  a  singer.  Doña  Lorenza  Correa,  a  half-length  of  pleasing  appear¬ 
ance,  but  not  one  of  the  artist’s  best  works. 


K 


CHAPTER  IV 


Bull-fighters — Majas — Portraits  of  the  Last  Five  Years 
OF  THE  Eighteenth  Century 

HE  years  in  which  Goya  lived  are  precisely  those  when  the 


bull-fight  developed  greatly,  became  altered  in  its  character, 


and  a  popular  amusement.  The  relations  of  the  artist  with 
this  national  amusement  are  famous;  let  us  see  how  and  why. 

The  origin  of  the  bull-fight  is  Spanish;  it  was  neither  invented 
by  the  Romans,  as  some  have  said,  nor  brought  over  by  the  Arabs. 
There  is  a  convincing  reason  to  prove  this,  which  is  that  for  such 
an  amusement  to  exist  it  is  a  fundamental  condition  that  there  should 
be  courageous  bulls;  and  this  animal — which  in  some  measure  holds 
his  own  against  man — when  he  lives  and  feeds  on  the  pastures 
of  the  Iberian  peninsular  becomes  fierce  and  ready  to  attack,  and 
gores  with  his  horns.  Hence  it  is  that  only  the  Spaniards,  to 
utilize,  dominate,  and,  in  a  word,  to  avail  themselves  of  this  kind 
of  cattle,  have  made  use  of  proceedings  and  means  suggested  by 
their  own  cleverness.  These  methods,  belonging  in  their  origin  to 
life  in  the  country,  were  learnt  and  utilized  by  the  knights  and 
nobles,  who  thus  created  a  proper  means  for  displaying  their  dex¬ 
terity  and  courage.  To  this  new  sport  they  abandoned  themselves 
and  turned  it  into  a  public  spectacle,  into  a  holiday  festival;  and 
on  horseback  themselves  they  let  loose  the  bulls  into  enclosed 
bull-rings,  and  then,  dismounting,  killed  them  with  the  sword  when 
their  own  chargers  were  dead  or  wounded  (a  difficult  combat  called 
Empeño  a  pie),  in  this  way  training  themselves  for  war  and  rivalling 
each  other  before  the  court  and  the  ladies  who  enjoyed  this  exciting 
spectacle.  Prom  the  Cid  down  to  Charles  V  many  were  the  knights, 


66 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Ó7 

and  even  some  monarchs  amongst  them,  who  practised  this  difficult 
exercise.  It  continued  in  use  and  even  increased  during  the  reigns 
of  the  Austrian  kings,  and  there  was  no  rejoicing  or  great  event 
which  was  not  celebrated  by  royal  bull-fights;  but  always  with 
the  same  character  of  not  allowing  the  public  to  attend  these  bull¬ 
fights,  as  they  had  not  a  public  character. 

When  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  dynasty  of  the  Bourbons 
came  to  rule,  Philip  V  manifested  his  dislike  for  this  spectacle, 
and  the  court,  following  the  taste  of  their  monarch,  abandoned  in 
great  part  its  preference  for  the  corridas.  But  while  enthusiasm 
for  bulls  and  bull-fighting  declined  in  the  aristocracy,  the  people, 
who  had  become  attached  to  the  amusement,  organized  another 
kind  of  bull-fight.  The  lower  class  then  appeared  fighting  the  bull 
on  foot;  these  new  bull-fighters  had  naturally  to  be  rewarded,  and 
were  so  most  liberally.  And  there  now  appears  the  art  of  bull-fight¬ 
ing  as  a  profession,  and  consequently  the  professional,  the  torero, 
a  person  who  was  completely  new  at  that  time.  New  bull-fighting 
manoeuvres  {suertes')  were  invented,  the  apprenticeship  to  this  craft 
was  made  more  easy,  and  books  were  published  giving  rules  to 
which  the  fighters  were  subject.  These  last  practised  and  perfected 
themselves  as  far  as  they  could,  and  thus  created  the  art  of 
Tauromaquia. 

The  Spanish  aristocracy  now  united  with  the  people  in  this 
enthusiasm  for  bull-fights,  and  both  classes  applauded  and  welcomed 
their  favourites  in  the  art.  The  nobility  no  longer  took  an  active 
part  in  the  contest  as  their  ancestors  had  done,  but  they  went  to 
the  spectacle  and  encouraged  their  favourites,  whom  they  protected 
and  even  admitted  to  a  certain  intimacy.  The  people’s  enthusiasm 
increased  the  passion  for  the  sport,  which  spread,  and  both  the 
aristocracy  and  the  lower  classes  made  an  idol  of  the  torero.  In 
the  full  heat  of  this  enthusiasm,  stimulated  by  the  princely  gift  of 
Ferdinand  VI,  who  constructed  and  offered  to  the  public  a  Plaza 
de  Toros  at  the  Hospital  of  Madrid,  arose  in  the  second  half  of  the 


68 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


eighteenth  century  a  most  brilliant  and  famous  constellation  of 
bull-fighters.  These  last  invented  new  suertes.  Francisco  Romero 
seeks  to  kill  the  bulls  face  to  face,  exciting  them  with  a  little  red 
flag.  Costillares  executes  for  the  first  time  the  feat  of  volapié,  and 
it  now  becomes  the  fashion  to  adorn  the  fighters  with  showy  dresses 
of  silk  covered  with  braid  and  fringe.  Pedro  Romero  (grandson 
of  Francisco),  with  a  style  of  his  own  which  was  restrained,  elegant, 
serene,  and  reposeful,  was  the  founder  of  the  Rondena  school, 
which  had  its  enthusiastic  partisans.  And  his  rival,  Joseph  Delgado, 
“  Hillo,”  brave  to  the  point  of  rashness,  founded  the  school  of  Seville, 
the  polished,  lively,  and  moving  art  of  bull-fighting,  in  which  all  is 
grace  and  adornment. 

The  great  ladies  of  noble  lineage  who  lost  their  heads  over 
these  persons  had  their  own  seats  in  the  Plaza  from  which  they 
watched  the  corrida  with  intense  emotion.  We  are  told  that  in  the 
Royal  Corrida,  celebrated  to  solemnize  the  accession  of  Charles  IV, 
Pepe  Hillo,  wounded  by  one  of  the  bulls,  was  carried  in  the  arms 
of  his  companion  and  ri\  al,  Romero,  to  the  balcony  of  the  Condesa 
de  Benavente,  Duquesa  de  Osuna,  in  the  midst  of  a  delirious 
ovation  to  the  wounded  bull-fighter,  his  generous  rival,  and  the 
noble  patroness  of  l)ull-fighters. 

As  we  have  seen,  this  form  of  sport  reached  its  height,  and 
the  passion  of  the  public  for  it  became  a  perfect  frenzy,  precisely 
in  those  years  in  which  Goya,  an  enthusiast  for  popular  life  in  all 
its  forms,  left  us  his  reminiscences  of  those  lively  arenas,  of  the 
picturesque  spectacles,  and  this  very  art  of  bull-fighting  in  a  number 
of  rough  sketches,  drawings,  and  studies,  and  in  his  famous  collec¬ 
tion  of  etchings,  “The  Tauromaquia.” 

On  the  other  hand  the  portraits  he  made  of  those  toreros  are 
neither  numerous  nor  especially  select.  Of  Costillares  I  know 
three  very  similar.  They  are  only  head  and  shoulders;  one  of  them 
can  be  seen  in  the  collection  of  the  Conde  del  Asalto;  in  it  the  bull¬ 
fighter  is  represented  with  his  head  encircled  behind  with  a  blue 


DUQUESA  DE  ALBA 


Plate  XVII 


(p.  72) 


v  . 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


69 


handkerchief  and  wearing  a  green  jacket  with  gold  braid,  a  crimson 
waistcoat  with  gold  trimming,  a  white  cravat,  and  a  black  scarf 
hanging  from  his  neck.  The  second  of  these  portraits,  seen  by  me 
in  Paris,  is  almost  identical  with  the  one  I  have  just  described. 
The  third,  belonging  to  the  collection  of  Sr.  Lazaro  (Madrid),  has 
some  variations;  the  torero  is  wearing  a  jacket  of  brighter  hues 
and  the  ensemble  of  the  work  is  lighter  in  colour  and  technique. 

In  the  exhibition  of  Goya’s  works  in  the  year  1900  there 
appeared  two  noticeable  portraits  of  toreros’,  one  of  Pedro  Romero 
(Plate  16)  in  the  collection  of  the  Duque  de  Veragua,  very  refined 
in  its  execution  ;  and  the  other  of  José  Romero,  the  property  of  the 
Duque  de  Ansola. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  fix  approximately  the  dates  of  these  por¬ 
traits  through  the  period  in  which  the  toreros  are  represented.  They 
can  be  reckoned  as  belonging  to  the  last  ten  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  judging  by  the  following  dates:  Costillares  (?  -1800), 
Romero  (1754-1839). 

It  has  been  a  common  thing  to  confuse  the  tnajos  with  the 
toreros’,  thence  comes  the  mistake  which  has  arisen,  and  the  report 
that  Goya  had  spent  years  and  years  in  painting  portraits  of  toreros. 
What  he  did  paint  were  portraits  of  majos,  which  is  not  the  same 
thing.  The  majos  and  majas  are  those  persons  who  at  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  adopted 
the  popular  costume,  at  that  time  very  similar  to  that  used  by  the 
toreros.  Very  shortly  afterwards  this  picturesque  dress  became 
generally  used  by  all  classes  of  society,  including — one  might 
even  say  preferentially  by — the  aristocratic  class.  Goya  made  a 
great  number  of  portraits  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  this  dress 
of  the  majo. 

As  it  happens  that  the  lady  who  was  the  most  maja  of  her  time 
was  the  Duquesa  de  Alba  of  those  years,  and  as  the  portraits  which 
Goya  made  of  her  have  to  be  now  mentioned,  this  point  deserves 
special  examination. 


70 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Dona  Maria  del  Pilar  Teresa  Cayetana  de  Silva  Alvarez  de 
Toledo,  thirteenth  Duchess  of  Alba,  was  a  woman  of  no  common 
type.  She  was  what  might  be  called  a  modernist  of  her  time. 
Breaking  with  the  stiff  traditions  of  the  Spanish  aristocracy,  she 
led  an  independent  and  unconventional  life,  which  won  her  im¬ 
mediately  the  sympathy  of  the  people,  the  amazement  of  the  middle 
class,  and  the  hatred  of  the  nobility,  her  equals.  Haughty,  graceful 
of  figure,  elegant  and  charming,  of  pale  complexion  and  black  hair, 
and  an  expressive  and  intelligent  face,  the  Duchess  of  Alba  carried 
all  before  her  in  Madrid,  rivalling  the  Duquesa  de  Benavente,  and 
even  the  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  both  of  whom  she  equalled  in  ex¬ 
travagance  and  excelled  in  beauty.  Devoted  to  and  a  patroness  of 
the  arts,  and  herself  an  admirable  model  for  a  refined  artist  like 
Goya,  the  de  Alba  and  the  painter  seemed  destined  to  meet  and  to 
comprehend  each  other.  Their  artistic  relations  were  the  source  of 
friendship,  of  protection,  and  sympathy.  The  intimacy  of  these  two 
persons  has  passed  into  history.  Chance  has  lent  its  aid  to  make  of 
it  a  legend,  and  the  legend  has  become  established.  Is  there  any¬ 
thing  in  it  which  is  certain  and  secure?  Perhaps,  even  although 
nothing  has  been  ¡proved ;  a  few  sentences  of  some  intimate  letter, 
an  engraving,  not  published  for  certain,  a  something  which  is 
reported  and  goes  on  growing  like  a  snowball — these  are  things  of 
no  great  consecpience  nor  of  capital  importance.  Only  it  can  and 
should  be  stated  that  all  the  extraordinary  and  exceptional  import¬ 
ance  wdiich  tradition  assigns  to  this  connection  seems  inexact,  or 
at  least  exaggerated.  The  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  were 
those  in  which  the  intimacy  between  the  painter  and  the  duchess 
was  at  its  greatest.  But  then  she  was  thirty  years  of  age  or  more 
and  Goya  had  passed  his  fiftieth  year,  and  this,  joined  with  the  fact 
that  he  was  in  bad  health  and  as  deaf  as  a  stone  wall,  leads  one  to 
think  that  he  did  not  combine  the  conditions  most  suitable  for 
appearing  the  bold  and  terrible  gallant  which  the  story  relates  to  us. 

What  is  certain,  what  should  be  stated,  for  it  affects  the  creative 


DUQUESA  DE  ALBA 


Plate  XVIII 


(p.  72) 


■'  I 


M 


/ 


Í 


(«.r 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


71 


genius  of  our  artist,  is  that  Goya,  when  he  came  to  know  the  de 
Alba,  captivated  by  the  beauty  of  her  type,  by  the  lines  of  her  body, 
by  the  grace  of  her  form,  recalled  them  afterwards  a  thousand  times 
in  his  drawings,  in  his  etchings,  and  those  picaresque  figures 
which  are  so  artistic,  made  by  him  from  memory.  The  duchess 
died  in  the  prime  of  her  youth  in  the  year  1802,  but  in  the  artist 
there  remained  the  memory  of  the  graceful  silhouette  of  his  friend 
and  protectress,  and  remained  there  all  his  life ;  for  even  in  the  last 
drawings  made  by  Goya  at  Bordeaux,  when  the  painter  had  passed 
his  eightieth  year,  we  recognize,  like  a  far  distant  shadow  in  the 
wavering  lines  of  the  pencil  or  the  shaky  pen,  that  slight  graceful 
figure,  that  same  model  who  thirty  years  before  had  inspired  an 
artist’s  love. 

Goya  painted  different  portraits  of  the  duchess,  which  were 
taken  from  nature,  and  from  them  made  others  which  were  more 
slight  and  insignificant;  but  to  suppose  from  this  that  the  enor¬ 
mous  quantity  so  attributed  are  portraits  by  Goya  of  the  de  Alba 
is  a  very  different  thing.  Whenever  a  portrait  of  a  lady  of  that 
period  in  Goya’s  manner  is  met  with  it  has  been  frequently  put 
down  as  a  Duchess  of  Alba  by  the  famous  painter. 

I  propose  only  to  mention  here  those  portraits  of  indisputable 
originality,  and  of  which  it  can  be  said  that  they  are  the  typical 
portraits  from  which  later  so  many  copies  and  imitations  were  made. 

The  first,  where  the  sitter  is  at  her  youngest,  is  of  three- 
quarter  length,  seated,  her  hair  covered  with  a  large  hat  and 
appearing  against  a  dim  background  in  which  we  can  rather  guess 
at  than  see  a  little  dog  and  a  bird.  The  duchess  appears  in  this 
portrait  as  being  about  twenty  years  old.  The  arrangement  of  the 
portrait  and  its  technique  agree  perfectly  with  the  works  of  those 
years — from  1780  onwards — moreover,  the  lack  of  the  special  care 
in  treatment,  of  the  love  with  which  this  figure  was  treated  by 
Goya  in  later  years,  inclines  me  to  believe  that  this  picture  was 
not  of  later  date. 


72 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


“To  the  Duquesa  de  Alba,  Francisco  de  Goya,  1795”;  such 
is  the  dedication  of  the  fine  portrait  preserved  in  the  Palacio  de 
Liria  (Plate  17).  The  charming  duchess  in  her  thirty-third  year  is 
seen  standing  upright,  extending  her  right  arm,  pointing  without 
doubt  to  the  dedicatory  inscription  which,  judged  by  its  size,  is  so 
finely  done  that  even  when  looking  at  the  picture,  close  to,  it  is 
difficult  to  notice  it.  She  wears  a  white  dress  of  fine  transparent 
material,  spotted,  and  with  a  light  trimming  of  gold  around  the 
hem  of  the  skirt;  a  broad  crimson  sash  of  decided  tone;  ribbons 
of  the  same  colour  at  her  breast  and  on  her  head;  the  black  and 
beautiful  hair,  unbound,  falls  in  a  mass  of  curls.  Her  figure 
appears  against  a  very  delicate  open  background,  painted  with 
great  reserve.  This  portrait,  by  its  date  immediately  posterior,  is 
almost  contemporary  with  those  lately  studied  by  us  in  the 
previous  chapter,  and  shows  this  fact  in  its  technique;  the  grey 
tones  are  still  followed,  but  more  clear,  more  white,  one  might 
almost  say  less  grey,  and  combined  with  those  other  colours  which 
will  enrich  Goya’s  palette  in  later  years,  losing  thereby  much 
in  its  delicacy,  and  gaining  in  exchange  much  in  richness  and 
colouring. 

Of  two  years  later,  dedicated  and  signed  in  the  same  way, 
there  is  another  ])ortrait  not  less  important  than  the  above  of  the 
same  person,  in  which  she  wears  the  typical  dress  of  the  maja 
(Plate  18).  The  duchess  wears  here  a  black  dress  with  a  mantilla 
of  the  same  colour,  and  a  short  jacket  of  strong  yellow.  Her 
figure  is  seen  against  a  very  delicate  blue  sky  and  a  dreamy  land¬ 
scape — a  landscape  in  Corot’s  manner,  as  delicate  as  the  sky.  On 
the  ground  in  the  first  plane  appears  the  name  of  Goya  and  the 
date  of  1797.  She  points  to  the  name  with  her  right  hand,  as  if  to 
indicate  it  is  at  her  feet;  and  without  doubt  it  was  put  there  for 
her,  for  the  writing  is  found  inverted,  that  is  to  say  the  sitter  reads 
it  straight.  This  work,  proceeding  from  the  Goyena  collection,  is 
preserved  in  the  “  Hispanic  Society  of  America,”  for  which  it  was 


D.  JOSÉ  ALVAREZ  DE  TOLEDO,  DUQUE  DE  ALBA 


Plate  XIX 


(P.  73) 


) 


\ 

'  i' 

t 

i' 

,5i 


k 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  73 

acquired  by  its  illustrious  president,  the  famous  lover  of  Spain, 
Mr.  Archer  M.  Huntington. 

The  de  Alba,  patroness  and  friend  of  Goya  in  the  following 
years,  frequented  his  studio,  served  him  as  model,  and  the  intimacy 
between  the  painter  and  the  lady  of  rank  is  reflected  in  a  letter 
from  Goya  to  Zapater,  dated  in  jest  from  London,  the  letter  being 
from  Madrid  on  2  August  1800.  He  says  in  one  of  the  sentences: 

“You  had  better  come  and  help  me  to  paint  the  de  Alba,  who 
yesterday  came  into  my  studio  to  paint  her  face  and  came  out  with 
this  suggestion;  certainly  I  should  like  this  better  than  painting 
on  canvas,  and  she  also  wishes  me  to  make  her  portrait  in  full 
length,  and  she  will  come  as  soon  as  I  have  finished  a  sketch  of 
the  Duque  de  la  Alcudia  on  horseback.” 

This  letter,  already  published,  though  not  always  faithfully, 
and  with  an  interpretation  as  incorrect  as  it  was  maliciously 
intended,  has  been  the  reason  for  some  writers,  particularly 
foreigners,  having  invented  anecdotes  in  this  connection  which  are 
more  or  less  extravagant. 

In  the  possession  of  the  Duque  de  Aliaga  is  another  portrait, 
perhaps  the  last  made  by  Goya,  of  the  Duchess  of  Alba.  It  is  much 
less  important  than  those  already  mentioned ;  it  is  moreover  freely 
restored,  is  in  a  state  of  deplorable  preservation,  and,  in  a  word,  is 
a  complete  ruin;  but  I  quote  it  here  especially  on  account  of  its 
being  a  portrait  of  another  type,  less  intimate,  we  might  almost 
say  more  official,  in  which  the  lady  painted  wears  a  society  dress, 
of  a  fashion  which  seems  to  indicate  that  this  work  is  some  years 
later  than  those  already  described. 

Of  the  husband  of  this  Duquesa  de  Alba,  D.  José  Alvarez  de 
Toledo,  eleventh  Marques  de  Villafranca,  there  exists  a  beautiful 
portrait  which  must  be  reckoned  as  having  been  painted  in  the 
same  years  as  those  of  his  wife.  Goya  depicts  him  on  foot,  full 
length,  leaning  on  a  clavicord  on  which  rest  his  black  hat  and  a 

L 


74 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


violin.  The  model  here  holds  open  in  his  hand  a  sheet  of  music  on 
which  may  be  read:  “  Cuatro  cone  .  .  .  con  acomp  .  .  .  de  Haydn.” 
The  background  of  the  portrait  is  grey  in  part;  and  the  other  part, 
that  against  which  the  head  is  seen,  is  formed  by  a  dark  green 
curtain.  The  sitter  wears  a  crimson  coat,  a  white  waistcoat  with 
spots,  high  close-fitting  boots  showing  the  stockings  above  the 
knees,  and  grey  breeches.  This  Duke  of  Alba,  husband  of  the 
Duchess,  appears  here  as  a  man  of  aristocratic  and  refined  type, 
passionately  fond  of  music,  but  not  very  interesting.  It  is  a  work 
less  free  in  comparison  with  the  great  portraits  of  those  years,  of 
which  it  is  nevertheless  contemporary. 

The  mother  of  this  nobleman.  Da.  Maria  Antonia  Gonzaga  y 
Caracciolo,  wife  of  the  tenth  Marquis  of  Villafranca,  had  likewise  her 
portrait  painted  by  Goya,  perhaps  some  years  before.  This  portrait 
of  her  is  almost  three-quarter  length,  with  the  hands  showing,  and 
ranks  in  the  production  of  the  author  among  his  compositions 
of  delicate  grey.  It  is  somewhat  timid  in  its  execution,  as  a  whole 
smoothly  treated,  but  the  head,  full  of  life  and  character,  animates 
the  figure  of  this  high-born  and  beautiful  lady,  who  still  preserves 
in  her  simplicity  of  adornment  and  dress,  like  a  trace  of  past 
festivities,  some  blue  ribbons  and  a  flower — a  rose — modest  as 
herself,  which  she  carries  on  her  breast,  pinned  into  her  white 
shawl.  This  admirable  portrait  might  well  be  called  “  La  Señora 
de  la  Rosita,”  as  it  is  now  named  by  its  noble  possessor. 

Curious  in  its  composition  and  arrangement  is  the  portrait  of 
Doña  Maria  Tomasa  Palafox  y  Portocarrero,  wife  of  the  twelfth 
Marques  de  Villafranca,  the  brother  of  the  one  mentioned  above. 
This  Doña  Maria  Tomasa  was  undoubtedly  an  artist;  Goya  has 
painted  her  seated  in  full  length,  with  the  brush  in  her  right  hand 
and  the  mahlstick  in  her  left,  contemplating  her  work,  a  canvas  on 
which  appears  the  portrait  of  her  husband.  The  tones  of  the 
picture  are  warm,  such  as  in  fact  correspond  with  the  date  which 
appears  on  the  armchair,  “  Goya  1804.”  The  lady  wears  a  white 


MARIA  TOMASA  PALAFOX  Y  PORTOCARRERO,  MARQUESA  DE  VILLAFRANCA 

Plate  XX 


(P-  74) 


r- 


\ 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


75 


and  gold  dress,  and  appears  entirely  against  a  dark  background 
blended  with  reds  and  carmines ;  on  her  palette,  placed  on  a  stand, 
are  the  words  “  Maria  Teresa  Palafox.”  The  head,  very  alive  in  its 
expression,  the  dress,  the  mastery  of  the  colour,  the  originality 
of  the  composition — everything,  in  short,  makes  this  portrait  an 
important  work  of  its  creator. 

I  have  mentioned  these  three  portraits  together  in  spite  of  the 
difference  in  their  dates,  because  they  are  united  as  belonging  to 
the  same  family.  To  their  interest  as  works  of  art  is  added  the 
fact  that  they  are  almost  unknown;  they  did  not  appear  in  the 
“  Exhibition  of  the  Works  of  Goya,”  nor  have  they  been,  as  far  as 
I  know,  shown  on  any  other  occasion.  They  are  preserved  to-day 
in  the  house  of  the  Dowager  Marquesa  de  los  Vélez,  widow  of  the 
eldest  son  of  the  house  of  Villafranca.^ 

Not  a  few  of  the  important  portraits  of  Goya  were  copied  or, 
perhaps,  repeated  by  the  artist  himself.  Types  of  these  works 
which  I  consider  replicas  may  be  found  in  those  slightly  executed 
paintings  to-day  in  the  possession  of  the  Marquesa  de  Caltabu- 
turu,  and  which  are  almost  identical  repetitions  of  that  of  the 
Duquesa  de  Alba  in  the  Palacio  de  Liria,  and  that  of  her  husband, 
the  Marqués  de  Villafranca  above  described.  Perhaps  the  two 
portraits  were  pendants  at  one  time,  and  were  separated  after  the 
death  of  this  married  couple.  From  this  noble  pair  there  was  no 
issue,  and,  on  the  death  of  the  duchess  in  1802,  the  estates  and 
titles  of  Alba  passed  to  the  Dukes  of  Berwick. 

The  present  possessor  of  these  two  dukedoms  who,  uniting 
to  his  English  lineage  the  highest  Spanish  nobility — this  last 
heightened  through  his  mother.  Doña  Maria  del  Rosario  Falcó  y 
Osorio,  of  the  house  of  Fernán  Núñez,  from  whom  he  perhaps 

'  They  were  reproduced  for  the  first  time  for  the  purpose  of  publication  at  my 
request  on  the  occasion  of  my  compiling  the  second  volume  of  this  series,  “  Goya. 
Composiciones  y  Figuras.”  In  this  work  (Plates  60,  61,  and  62)  there  are  the  above- 
mentioned  reproductions. 


76 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


inherits  that  love  of  art  which  was  so  strong  in  her — preserves  in 
his  Palacio  de  Liria,  that  model  of  a  nobleman’s  mansion,  other 
works  of  Goya  of  great  importance,  and  which,  as  they  belong  to 
these  years,  should  be  properly  mentioned  in  this  connection. 

The  originality  of  one  important  work,  the  group  of  Doña 
Maria  Francisca  de  Sales  Portocarrero  y  Zuñiga,  sixth  Condesa 
del  Montijo,  and  her  four  daughters,  has  been  disputed.  The 
Condesa,  in  the  centre  of  the  canvas,  is  represented  seated  and 
bending  over  an  embroidery  frame ;  her  daughters  encircle  her,  two 
of  them  seated  and  two  behind  standing  dressed  in  white.  The 
five  ladies  wear  their  hair  loose  and  curled  in  the  fashion  of  the 
time.  This  group  has  something  very  strange  in  its  composition, 
technique,  and  colouring,  which  at  first  sight  makes  us  exclude 
the  idea  that  it  can  be  by  Goya.  Some  think  and  affirm  that  it  is 
by  Wertmuller. 

Given  the  age  of  the  Condesa  and  her  daughters,  the  painting 
should  not  be  earlier  than  the  year  1794,  when  the  Condesa,  born 
in  1754,  would  have  been  forty  years  of  age.  This  work  is 
therefore  in  the  period  we  are  now  treating — a  period  already 
advanced,  in  which  the  mastery  of  the  artist  contrasts  with  this 
somewhat  unnatural  group  of  figures  who  are  in  certain  points  stiff, 
conventional,  and  wanting  in  freedom.  Studied  attentively,  there 
may  be  observed  details,  touches  of  brushwork,  which  in  fact  do 
appear  to  be  by  (foya’s  hand.  It  is  certainly  difficult  to  pronounce  a 
definite  opinion  before  works  of  a  similar  character,  and  admitting 
its  originality  this  is  a  fresh  reason  for  us  to  appreciate  the  variety 
of  this  artist.  Did  someone  assist  him  in  these  years,  someone 
besides  Esteve — since  the  manner  and  technique  of  Esteve  in  no  way 
resemble  what  this  canvas  shows  us?  There  are  no  facts  to  confirm 
this;  moreover,  I  fully  believe  that  this  idea  ought  to  be  excluded; 
and  that  this  canvas  and  certain  others  which  have  a  likeness  with  it, 
and  which  at  first  sight  awaken  doubts  of  their  paternity,  must 
be  considered  original,  although  somewhat  strange  in  character. 


MARQUESA  DE  LAZAN 


Plate  XXI 


(P-  77) 


I  '  ■, 


1 


( 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


77 


I  recollect  among  them  one  very  beautiful  and  out  of  the 
common,  always  considered  from  certain  points  of  view  as  an 
original  work  of  Goya,  and  one  which  preserves  certain  analogies 
with  the  group  just  described.  This  is  the  portrait  of  Doña  Maria 
Ildefonsa  Dábalos  y  Santa  Maria,  in  the  collection  of  the  Conde 
de  Villagonzalo. 

The  series  of  portraits  by  Goya  within  the  Palacio  de  Liria  is 
completed  by  one  justly  claiming  its  place  among  the  choicest  works 
of  the  painter,  that  of  Doña  Maria  Gabriela  Palafox  y  Portocarrero, 
Marquesa  de  Lazán  (Plate  19).  This  lady  was  born  in  1779,  and 
here  appears  about  twenty  years  of  age.  The  technique  of  the  work 
coincides  absolutely  with  the  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
which  are  precisely  those  of  the  picture.  Standing  in  a  light  and 
easy  pose  on  her  left  leg,  over  which  she  has  crossed  the  right,  its 
foot  appearing  with  grace  and  coyness,  her  swaying  figure  showing 
its  womanly  curves  unreservedly  in  all  their  natural  splendour,  the 
Marquesa  de  Lazán,  resting  on  the  back  of  a  chair,  with  a  plain 
background  behind  her,  comes  before  us  looking  out  fixedly  with 
her  dark  eyes,  which  are  overflowing  with  life.  Her  black  hair, 
curled,  flowing  loose  and  restrained  only  by  two  narrow  bands  of 
gold,  frames  her  beautiful  and  wonderfully  lighted  face.  She  wears  a 
white  dress  of  very  fine  material,  adorned  with  spots  and  trimming 
of  gold,  straps  over  the  shoulders  of  the  same  colour,  and,  falling 
behind  her,  a  dark  train.  Over  the  chair  is  seen  her  cloak,  lined 
with  ermine. 

The  general  note  of  this  picture,  its  tonality — darker  than 
those  quoted  as  typical  of  Goya’s  production  in  preceding  years, 
which  are  characterized  by  the  clear  tones  of  grey— carries  us  for¬ 
ward,  as  if  without  our  knowing  it,  to  the  works  coinciding  with 
the  great  court  portraits  painted  in  the  last  and  first  years  respect¬ 
ively  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  to  the  study  of 
which  we  shall  devote  ourselves  in  the  following  chapter.  But  before 
doing  so  we  have  to  mention  some  of  those  characteristic  ladies  whom 


78 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Goya  painted  with  such  telling  effect  dressed  as  ?najas\  and  certain 
works  dated  or  whose  date  is  known,  belonging  to  the  last  five  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century — that  is  to  say  later  than  the  portraits  of 
the  Marquesa  de  la  Solana  and  of  Bayeu,  which  we  have  taken  as 
typical  of  the  whole  tendency  which  pre-occupied  the  artist  for 
several  years. 

Just  as  when  speaking  of  the  portraits  of  toreros  I  pointed  out 
that  we  ought  not  to  confuse  the  figures  of  majos  with  the  portraits 
of  persons  dressed  ^smajo,  here  I  insist  on  something  very  similar, 
which  is  that  we  ought  not  to  confuse  the  figures  of  majas,  which  are 
not  portraits,  with  the  portraits  of  ladies  in  the  maja  dress.  These 
last  fall  within  the  subject  we  have  chosen  for  this  work,  and  are 
for  this  reason  the  only  ones  we  have  to  mention  here. 

A  fine  example  of  these,  although  not  very  characteristic  in  its 
technicpie,  is  the  portrait  of  Dona  Isabel  Corvo  de  Pórcel,  preserved 
in  the  National  Gallery  of  London  (No.  1473  of  the  catalogue).  She 
is  a  beautiful  and  haughty  blonde,  whose  type  is  so  little  Spanish 
that  the  classical  mantilla  and  the  dress  of  those  times  seem 
scarcely  appropriate.  Perhaps,  however,  the  restoration  has  influ¬ 
enced  all  this.  In  colouring  this  work  is  very  successful,  the  clear 
fresh  skin  of  the  sitter  and  the  rose  colour  of  the  dress  making  a 
fine  contrast  with  the  black  mantilla. 

Little  talked  of,  and  almost  unknown,  is  the  portrait  of  a  lady 
dressed  as  a  maja,  at  full  length,  in  the  open  air,  and  seen  against 
one  of  Goya’s  typical  landscapes  (Plate  20).  The  figure  is  a  little  less 
than  life  size,  approximately  one  quarter  less.  This  work  belonged 
to  the  collection  of  the  Marques  de  Remisa.  I  saw  it  in  Paris  some 
years  ago,  and  it  made  a  very  good  impression  on  me;  the  blacks 
of  the  dress,  already  intense,  seem  to  show  it  as  a  work  of  the  last 
years  of  the  century.  I  do  not  know  the  present  possessor  of  this 
portrait. 

An  almost  identical  replica  of  the  above  work,  but  smaller  in 
size,  is  in  the  Musée  du  Louvre  at  Paris,  under  the  title  of  “A  Young 


MARQUESA  DE  LAS  MERCEDES 


Plate,  XXII 


(p.  78) 


./vi; 


tí 


f.'; 

;( 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


79 

Spanish  Lady”  (No.  1705  of  the  catalogue);  and  it  is  stated  that 
this  work  was  painted  in  Madrid  in  the  year  1799. 

The  portrait  of  head  and  shoulders,  a  canvas  in  its  proportions 
wider  than  its  height,  where  Rita  Molinos  appears  before  us,  as  we 
are  told  by  an  inscription  at  the  back  of  the  work,  is  really  very 
beautiful  (Plate  21).  It  is  in  a  private  collection  at  Brussels;  and 
it  may  be  noted  that  this  work  was  done  with  special  love  and  care. 
The  enchanting  physique  of  the  model  and  her  sympathetic  appear¬ 
ance  perhaps  were  the  cause  that  the  painter  did  not  hurry  over 
this  work,  as  over  some  others  from  his  hand,  of  which  it  had  been 
sometimes  said  that  they  were  only  “official  masks.”  Here,  without 
altering  his  technique— -on  this  occasion,  as  in  so  many  other  works, 
loose  and  rich  in  oily  pigment — he  shows  evident  satisfaction  in 
the  execution  of  the  work.  One  might  fancy  that  the  head  was 
only  a  fragment  of  a  painting:  in  any  case  the  composition  and 
proportions  come  well  and  their  result  is  very  original.  Only  two 
tones,  combined  in  the  most  masterly  manner,  fill  this  canvas;  that 
of  the  fresh  and  rosy  complexion  of  Rita  Molinos  and  the  black  of 
the  mantilla  and  the  background.  The  sweet  and  expressive  glance 
in  these  eyes,  the  half-opened  mouth,  all  the  life  which  breathes 
from  the  model,  make  of  this  portrait  a  fascinating  work.  The  date 
at  which  it  was  painted  is  unknown;  but  to  judge  from  its  tech¬ 
nique,  and  from  the  dominating  note  of  black  which  we  find  in  it, 
it  seems  to  me  it  should  be  attributed  to  some — a  few — years  later 
than  the  works  I  last  mentioned. 

It  is,  moreover,  an  excellent  piece  of  painting  for  our  study  of 
the  methods  of  Goya.  The  lace  which  appears  in  it,  the  open  work 
of  the  mantilla  seen  over  the  fiesh  which  it  half  conceals,  are  special 
notes  of  Goya,  and  worth  a  thousand  times  more  than  a  signature. 
The  copyists  and  imitators  of  Goya  know  these  methods  of  his  well. 
These  imitators  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  two  groups,  the 
first  those  who  seek  to  learn  or  to  study  in  the  works  of  the  master 
his  refinements,  his  graceful  lightness  of  touch,  in  order  to 


8o 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


reproduce  them  later  as  far  as  possible — a  proceeding  perfectly 
legitimate,  artistic,  and  honourable;  and  those  others,  who,  making 
use  of  some  old  canvas,  seek  to  produce  a  facsimile  rather  than  a 
copy,  which  is  not  the  same  thing,  and  therefore  give  it  an  artificial 
patina  and  surface,  and  launch  it  into  the  world  of  picture  dealers 
to  see  what  will  happen. 

These  flesh  tints,  half  covered  by  mantillas  and  white  silk  lace, 
were  painted  by  Goya  in  two  different  ways.  Either  he  painted 
them  in  one  single  sitting,  obtaining  his  effect  only  by  the  combina¬ 
tions  of  colours,  or  he  painted  the  fiesh  tints  excluding  the  rest,  and 
afterwards,  when  that  was  ready  to  bite  and  half  dried,  with  a  thin 
veil  of  colour  and  some  charming  touches  he  put  in  the  lacework, 
giving  a  complete  effect  of  reality.  These  are  things  easier  to 
explain  and  to  recognize  than  to  imitate. 

Among  the  many  viajas  and  ladies  dressed  as  majas  painted 
by  Goya  none  is  so  famous  as  the  one  who,  repeated  in  the  same 
pose,  dressed  and  nude  respectively,  is  the  subject  of  the  two 
canvases  which  are  in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (Nos.  741  and  742), 
known  by  the  title  of  “  La  Maja  de  Goya.”  On  other  occasions 
I  have  already  studied  these  works.  I  do  not  consider  them  as 
portraits,  and  for  this  reason  I  have  neither  reproduced  them  as 
illustrations  of  this  book  nor  do  I  study  nor  analyse  them  here. 
However,  as  it  happens  that  a  false  legend  has  grown  up  around 
them  which,  repeated  by  one  and  another,  seems  to  have  taken 
on  an  appearance  of  truth,  I  cannot  pass  them  by  on  this  occasion 
without  stating  what  I  have  to  report  about  these  pictures  and  what 
is  the  result  of  my  own  investigations. 

We  may  trace  back  the  vicissitudes  of  these  two  canvases  as 
far  as  the  year  1803,  when  they  figured  in  the  collection  of  Godoy. 
We  are  only  ignorant  who  commissioned  them  and  their  first 
possessor,  who  cannot  have  held  them  more  than  a  short  time, 
since  we  cannot  reasonably  think  that  they  were  painted  much 
before  this  date,  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  known. 


F-. 

v^ln 

I 

Plate  XXIII 

r 


RITA  MOLINOS 


(P-  79) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


8i 


however,  that  they  were  not  painted  for  Godoy;  he  acquired  them 
and  they  appear  in  the  inventory  of  his  pictures  in  the  following 
and  somewhat  misleading  form: 

“  Number  122:  Two  pictures  five  feet  and  four  fingers  high 
by  six  feet  and  ten  fingers  wide.  One  of  them  representing  a  naked 
Venus  on  a  couch,  the  other  a  clothed  maja,  their  author  Francisco 
Goya.” 

I  believe  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  this  treats  of 
these  two  canvases;  it  may  be  observed,  moreover,  that  at  that  time 
they  were  not  considered  as  portraits  of  any  known  lady. 

In  1808  the  property  of  the  Prince  de  la  Paz  was  sequestrated. 
D.  Pedro  de  Madrazo  says,  in  speaking  of  this  particular  matter: 

“  These  two  paintings  went  with  many  others  to  the  Casa 
Almacén  de  Cristales,  for  safe  keeping,  whence  they  were  brought 
to  the  Academy  in  1813,  under  an  inventory  which  was  completed 
by  a  Commission  of  that  same  Body.” 

There  is  some  mistake  in  this,  since  the  inventory  mentioned 
of  the  Academy  is  not  of  1813  but  of  1816,  and  does  not  contain  in 
its  register  “  Las  Majas”;  and  such  an  omission  seems  incredible. 
Some  have  affirmed  that  “  Las  Majas”  were  not  in  the  Academy 
until  1836,  with  other  nude  figures,  among  them  a  copy  of  Titian; 
and  it  is  also  asserted  that  there  exists  an  official  letter  of  the  Tri¬ 
bunal  of  the  Inquisition,  through  which  it  is  known  that  in  1813 
there  was  an  expurgation  of  the  pictures  of  Godoy,  keeping  back 
those  which  did  not  appear  moral.  In  any  case  what  is  certain  is  that 
“  Las  Majas  ”  were  in  the  Academy  before  the  middle  of  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century,  and  that  they  left  there  for  the  first  time  in  1900, 
taking  part  in  the  exhibition  of  the  works  of  Goya,  and  that  they 
afterwards,  in  1902,  passed  into  the  Museo  del  Prado. 

These  two  canvases  denote  in  their  technique  the  best  period 
of  their  author.  The  dress,  and  even  more  the  form,  the  manner  of 

M 


82 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


dressing  the  hair,  seem  proper  to  the  years  included  between  the 
second  and  fifth  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was  said,  and  later 
affirmed  by  the  Conde  de  la  Viñaza,  that  the  nude  figure  was 
painted  in  the  open  air,  in  the  woods  of  the  Prado.  Even  if  we 
suppose  that  instead  of  “  Prado  ”  should  be  read  “  Pardo  ”  (and 
nothing  else  seems  ]:»ossible),  I  do  not  find  that  the  picture  itself 
suggests  anything  of  the  kind.  The  above-mentioned  biographer  of 
Goya  asserts  that  the  blue-grey  shadows  of  the  flesh  confirm  this 
view.  I  do  not  find  the  e.xistence  of  these  tones  in  the  nude  figure 
of  the  maja,  nor  even  am  I  aware  that  figures  in  the  open  air  take 
a  tone  of  blue-grey  in  the  shadows.  I  observe  in  both  “Majas” 
a  side  lighting  from  the  left,  sufficiently  strongly  marked  in  the 
clothed  figure,  creating  very  marked  projections  of  shadows.  A 
figure  in  the  open  air  would  be  much  more  bathed  in  light  than 
this  one  appears  to  be. 

The  dress,  somewhat  showy,  it  is  true,  but  luxurious  in  its 
texture  and  adornment,  suggests  a  sitter,  in  the  event  of  this  being 
an  actual  portrait,  who  was  of  good  position  or  at  least  rich.  But 
we  cannot  state  precisely  who  this  person  was.  The  story  ran,  as 
I  have  said  without  foundation,  that  this  maja  might  have  been 
the  Ducjuesa  de  Alba.  By  the  evidence  above  given  it  seems  to  be 
shown  that  these  pictures  are  later  than  the  death  of  the  duchess; 
and  the  character  of  these  paintings  indicate  to  us  clearly  that  they 
are  a  faithful  and  true  likeness  of  the  model,  and  not  figures  done 
from  memory.  Moreover — and  this  would  suffice  to  negative  any 
possibility  to  the  legend — this  maja  and  the  duchess  have  no  like¬ 
ness  at  all,  neither  in  the  head,  which  we  must  immediately  admit 
to  be  difterent,  nor  yet  in  the  figure.  The  7naja  is  a  short,  small 
woman,  of  rounded  form  and  a  short  neck;  the  De  Alba  was  tall, 
slender,  totally  different. 

The  only  thing  that  I  know  of  this  maja,  the  only  thing  which 
merits  belief  through  being  related  by  persons  of  reputation  and 
good  standing,  is  the  following.  In  the  year  1868,  D.  Luis  de 


THE  BOOKSELLER  OF  CALLE  DE  CARRETAS 


Plate  XXIV 


(p.  85) 


1 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


83 


Madrazo  had  a  lawsuit  in  connection  with  the  sale  of  some  pictures 
by  Goya.  The  only  witness  who  could  give  evidence  on  the  subject 
was  the  grandson  of  Goya;  he  was  an  old  man  who  lived  modestly, 
almost  poorly,  in  the  village  of  Bustarviejo.  D.  Luis  de  Madrazo 
managed  to  bring  to  Madrid  this  valuable  witness,  and  won  his 
case.  The  grandson  of  Goya,  the  old  man  who  appeared  here  in  the 
year  1868,  was  in  bygone  times  that  little  boy  whom  we  know  by 
those  most  precious  portraits  which  his  grandfather  made  of  him, 
and  of  which  we  shall  speak  later  on.  It  is  clear  that  this  grandson 
of  Goya  was  not  only  a  witness  for  the  lawsuit;  he  was  a  witness 
likewise  of  a  thousand  intimate  facts  of  his  family,  in  those  first 
years  of  the  century  when  his  grandfather  was  producing  his  works. 
This  old  grandson  was  questioned  by  Madrazo  with  regard  to  details 
and  matters  of  interest.  When  the  conversation  turned  on  these 
doubts  as  to  the  model  for  “La  Maja  Vestida”  and  “  La  Maja  Des¬ 
nuda,”  the  good  old  man  laughed  at  the  idea  of  this  figure  having 
been  taken  for  the  Duquesa  de  Alba,  and  then  related  the  following 
story.  In  those  years — he  did  not  give  the  date,  but  he  was  referring 
to  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century — a  great  favourite  in  that 
court  was  a  friar  named  Padre  Bavi.  He  dedicated  himself  especi¬ 
ally  to  the  Christian  mission  of  helping  people  to  die  well.  He  was 
a  man  of  good  means,  generous,  much  loved  by  the  common  people, 
known  by  everybody  and  described  everywhere  by  the  name  of 
El  Agonizante  (the  monk  who  assisted  dying  persons).  But  perhaps 
seeing  himself  so  repeatedly  face  to  face  with  death  inspired  him  with 
a  fondness  for  life,  and  on  a  certain  occasion  he  came  across  a  girl 
of  Madrid,  whom  he  took  under  his  protection  afterwards  for  a 
certain  time.  Goya  and  El  Agonizante  were  friends.  Goya  knew  this 
Madrileña,  and,  making  use  of  her  as  his  model,  made  two  pictures, 
one  in  which  she  was  dressed  as  maja,  and  the  other  in  which 
she  shone  forth  in  all  the  splendour  of  her  youthful  nudity.  This 
story  was  related  by  the  grandson  of  Goya  in  1868.  I  do  not  make 
it  public  as  a  novelty;  two  writers  have  already  published  it — 


84 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


D.  Pedro  de  Madrazo  as  the  first,  and  later,  Vicente  Blasco  Ibánez 
in  an  article  in  “  El  Imparcial  ”  in  the  year  1907,  with  the  title  of 
“  La  Maja  Desnuda;  su  verdadera  historia.”  However,  both  these 
writers  give  to  their  statement,  through  the  details  which  adorn  it, 
an  aspect  of  romance  which  deprives  it  of  the  likelihood  which  in 
my  opinion  it  possesses.  I,  notwithstanding,  neither  affirm  nor 
deny  it,  and  relate  it  as  it  came  to  me.  That  distinguished  artist, 
D.  Ricardo  de  Madrazo,  to  whose  kindness  I  owe  not  a  little  of 
the  information  given  in  this  work,  and  who  heard  the  story  from 
his  seniors,  approved  my  suggestion  of  publishing  it. 

I  lowever,  the  most  interesting  thing  about  the  “Maja  Desnuda” 
is  the  picture  itself.  This  simple  work,  without  any  pretensions  to 
transcendental  art,  is  a  piece  of  life  taken  right  out  of  nature;  and 
is  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  famous  works  which  Spanish 
art  has  produced  in  all  times,  and  marks  a  moment  of  inspiration. 

In  its  creation  the  profound  painter,  the  man  of  thought,  the 
ironical  Goya,  the  Goya  of  tragedy  has  disappeared.  Independently 
of  the  rules  of  tradition,  its  author  abandons  himself  to  his  own 
impressions;  and  forgetting  all  else,  overcome  by  the  enchantment 
of  his  model,  fascinated  by  his  subject,  here  it  is  only  the  tenderness 
of  a  lover  which  guides  the  artist’s  hand. 

The  drawing  is  secure  and  firm,  we  do  not  find  in  it  the 
smallest  incorrectness,  and  it  seems  to  compete  with  reality  itself, 
neither  neglecting  nor  losing  any  detail.  The  feet,  the  hands,  have 
the  same  value  as  the  head  itself.  The  bosom  which  seems  to 
heave,  the  expressive  eyes,  the  delicate  contours  of  this  whole  body, 
quivering  with  nervous  life,  dark-skinned  and  pale,  make  of  the 
figure  a  most  unique  work  of  refined  voluptuousness,  and  one 
which  denotes  a  supreme  sensibility. 

Had  the  classic  marbles,  the  “Venus”  of  Giorgione,  the  figures 
of  Venus  and  Danae  of  Titian,  the  “Venus  with  the  Mirror”  by 
V'elazquez,  all  these  marvellous  nudes  never  existed,  Goya  on  such 
an  occasion  before  this  model  would  have  created  this  same  work. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


85 


The  portrait  of  the  bookseller  of  the  Calle  de  Carretas  is  not 
a  portrait  of  a  maja  (Plate  22).  Standing  upright,  painted  down 
to  her  knees,  covering  her  head  with  a  long  white  mantilla  which 
she  gathers  together  with  her  right  hand,  the  famous  bookseller 
looks  at  us  full  face,  showing  a  head  of  truly  Spanish  beauty  with 
a  frank  and  simple  glance  and  noble  expression.  This  is  a  most 
beautiful  work,  judging  by  its  photographic  reproductions;  and  I 
can  say  no  more  than  that.  It  left  Spain  many  years  ago;  I  have 
never  seen  it,  and  it  is  not  my  wont  to  speak  of  works  I  do  not 
know.  In  this  case  its  good  report,  and  the  praises  it  has  obtained 
from  all  who  have  seen  it,  are  sufficient  to  justify  its  existing 
celebrity.  It  is  preserved  in  the  Havemeyer  collection  of  New  York. 
To  these  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  should  belong  the 
portrait  of  the  famous  actress.  La  Tirana,  since  she  appears  in  it 
slightly — but  not  much — older  than  in  the  portrait  already  described 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  and  dated  in  that  case  1794.  This  work, 
standing  upright  in  full  length,  in  which  the  model  presents  herself 
with  great  stateliness,  front  view,  to  the  spectator,  is  preserved  in 
the  Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando. 

The  style  of  this  second  portrait  of  La  Tirana,  very  free,  as  is 
characteristic  of  the  painter  in  those  years,  recalls  to  us  especially 
the  very  individual  technique  of  those  decorative  paintings  made 
by  Goya  in  San  Antonio  de  la  Florida.  On  another  occasion  I  have 
sought  to  explain  that  in  those  wrongly-called  frescoes  of  San 
Antonio  de  la  Florida — since  in  the  greater  part  they  are  painted 
in  tempera^ — -it  may  be  noted,  studying  attentively  certain  details, 
that  in  some  parts  (it  is  evident  that  w^e  here  except  the  heads, 
profiles,  points  of  importance,  etc.)  that  work  is  not  painted  with 
either  large  or  small  brushes,  nor  even  with  those  called  de  peine 
(comb)  which,  through  being  flat,  are  the  most  fitted  to  fill  with  colour 
large  spaces  with  few  strokes  of  the  brush.  A  prolonged  investiga¬ 
tion,  which  I  do  not  propose  to  repeat  here — since  this  is  not  the 
occasion  for  it — and  a  lucky  discovery  have  convinced  me  that  that 


86 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


uniformity  in  the  painting,  that  fusion  which  did  not  show  any  trace 
of  the  brush,  was  obtained  with  rapid  strokes  of  sponges  soaked 
in  colour.  But  observe;  in  this  portrait  of  La  Tirana — though, 
being  painted  in  oils,  it  is  clearly  absurd  to  think  that  in  its  making 
sponges  were  employed  in  any  way — there  is  something,  neverthe¬ 
less,  which  obtained  with  the  brush  seeks  to  bring  to  mind  that 
likeness,  that  fusion  of  colours,  attained  in  this  case  by  means  of 
paints  mixed  with  oil.  This  similarity  existing  between  the  treatment 
of  her  dress  and  the  folds,  sashes,  and  girdles,  and  all  the  finery  of 
those  angels  of  San  Antonio  de  la  Florida,  whose  beauty  has  but 
little  of  the  celestial,  is  evident.  Without  a  doubt  Goya,  delighted 
with  the  methods  which  gave  him  such  good  results  in  those 
tempera  paintings,  had  tried  on  this  occasion  to  apply  them  to  oil 
painting.  From  this  point  of  view  it  seems  natural  to  think  that 
both  these  works  were  done  in  the  same  period,  since  it  does  not 
seem  probable  that  he  would  revive  a  special  method  of  treatment 
years  later.  The  decoration  of  San  Antonio  de  la  Florida  belongs 
to  the  year  1789.  For  various  reasons  I  consider  that  this  portrait 
was  painted  in  the  same  year. 

We  know  some  works  dated  in  the  last  three  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  “A  Melendez  Valdes  su  amigo  Goya,  1797” 
(Plate  23).  Thus  says  in  large  letters,  in  which  we  recognize  the 
handwriting  of  the  painter,  the  inscription  which  may  be  read  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  bust  portrait  of  the  distinguished  poet  and 
writer,  D.  Juan  Melendez  Wldes.  It  is  preserved  in  the  Bowes 
Museum  of  Barnard  Castle  in  England.  It  is  of  value  to  us  as  a 
fine  and  characteristic  example  of  this  period  of  Goya.  I  know  two 
replicas  of  it,  one,  of  considerable  importance,  in  Madrid.  However, 
in  this  last  example  I  believe  that  its  interest  lies  rather  in  its 
value  as  a  portrait  than  in  its  artistic  merit,  although  this  latter  is 
not  a  small  one.  It  brings  before  us  the  sitter  at  forty-three  years 
of  age,  as  is  indicated  to  us  by  the  unquestionable  date,  written  in 
Goya’s  hand.  Melendez  Wldes  had  arrived  at  Madrid,  preceded 


MELENDEZ  VALDES 


Plate  XXV 


(p.  86) 


<• 


i'‘A  '  ' 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


87 


by  literary  renown  and  very  wide  erudition,  in  the  year  1781.  In 
Madrid  his  relations  with  Jove  Llanos,  and  with  all  the  then 
intellectual  circle  in  the  capital  of  Spain,  shortly  brought  him  into 
a  position  to  make  himself  known  and  to  shine.  Various  journeys 
in  Spain,  some  of  them  taken  more  from  necessity  than  personal 
desire,  made  him  absent  from  the  court  up  till  precisely  this  year 
1797.  The  date  of  this  portrait  marks  in  Meléndez  Valdes  a  change 
in  his  style,  as  being  more  polished  and  perfect  than  that  which  pre¬ 
ceded  it,  and  fixes  his  consecration  among  the  masters,  giving  him 
a  place  in  the  Academies  of  Language  and  of  San  Fernando. 

This  portrait,  with  its  friendly  dedication,  proves  to  us  what  I 
have  already  indicated  by  the  not  less  intimate  character  of  the 
portrait  of  Moratin  of  some  years  before,  and  what  is  confirmed  by 
the  relations  of  Goya  with  Jove  Llanos  and  with  all  that  group  of 
intellectuals  who  were  open  to  the  new  and  reforming  ideas  which 
came  from  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  especially  from  France; 
namely,  that  Goya  was  in  friendly  relations  with  this  group  of 
reformers,  and  consequently  that  he  sympathized  with  their  manner 
of  thought  and  ideas.  The  letters  of  Goya  of  these  years  tell  us 
nothing  clearly  about  this;  nothing  definite  has  come  down  to  us, 
showing  us  the  change  which,  as  I  have  indicated,  was  beginning 
to  show  itself  in  the  painter  in  those  years.  However,  by  a  reasoned 
hypothesis,  and  by  not  a  few  productions  of  that  date  (not  precisely 
by  the  portraits  but  by  his  caprices,  fancies,  etc.),  we  can  be  fairly 
certain  that  the  mind  of  Goya,  with  those  simple  ideas  shown  to  us 
in  the  first  period  of  his  life,  became  developed,  disturbed — -de¬ 
veloping  a  new  Goya  of  more  powerful  intellect  and  imagination, 
who  even  had  to  suffer  further  profound  transformations  before 
the  spectacle  of  blood  and  horror  which  destiny  was  reserving  to 
our  country  some  years  later.  The  not  very  scrupulous  writers, 
who  described  to  us  Goya  in  his  youth  as  a  depraved  character  and 
a  libertine  devoid  of  conscience,  present  him  to  us  in  these  years  of 
his  matured  life  as  a  terrible  revolutionary.  The  one  view  is  as  false 


88 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


as  the  other;  and,  from  the  fact  that  his  intelligence  and  culture 
became  modified  in  a  certain  sense,  to  consider  him  as  a  revolu¬ 
tionary  and  a  dangerous  man  of  action  is  to  bridge  over  an  abyss 
which  Goya  never  crossed.  It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  at  the  same 
time  that  in  those  years,  and  even  in  other  later  years,  the  painter, 
though  in  relation  with  the  intellectual  and  progressive  elements  of 
Spain,  was  none  the  less — and  continued  so  to  be,  until  the 
national  conditions,  to  his  own  regret,  prevented  him — the  painter 
of  the  aristocracy  and  the  court. 

To  this  same  date,  1797,  belongs  the  other  portrait  of  Zapater 
(Plate  24).  The  letters  do  not  mention  this  last,  and  notwithstand¬ 
ing,  the  portrait  is  considerably  better  than  the  one  we  have  already 
mentioned,  painted  seven  years  earlier.  This  is  an  oval  head  and 
shoulders,  the  head  very  fine  and  characteristic.  In  the  features  of 
the  sitter  can  be  traced  the  years  passed  since  the  earlier  portrait. 
The  nose  to  which  Goya  had  alluded,  calling  it  impudently  nari¬ 
gón  (large  nose),  continues  by  its  size  to  be  a  marked  feature  of  the 
physiognomy  of  his  good  friend.  I  do  not  know  whence  this  por¬ 
trait  came,  but  I  imagine  from  Zaragoza;  I  have  only  seen  it  once 
not  loner  a^o  in  the  famous  collection  in  Paris  of  M.  Durand  Ruel. 

Zapater,  the  nephew,  as  I  have  said,  does  not  point  out  in  his 
book  the  e.xistence  of  the  earlier  portrait,  whose  dedication  says: 
“  Goya.  To  his  friend  Marñ  Zapater.  1797-”  Instead  he  says: 

“Among  the  different  portraits  of  my  collection  there  is  another 
portrait  of  my  uncle  D.  Martin  Zapater  signed:  Goya  to  Jus  friend 

1798.” 

I  am  absolutely  ignorant  of  this  third  portrait  which  the  painter 
made  of  his  friend ;  but  I  consider  that  it  existed,  and  that  there  is 
not  here  a  confusion  with  the  earlier;  since  it  would  be  strange 
that  the  author  of  the  book  should  be  mistaken  in  the  dedication 
and  the  date,  especially  when  he  is  treating  of  a  picture  which  he 
had  in  his  own  collection. 


MARTIN  ZAPATER 


Plate  XXVI 


(P.  88) 


4  I 

i',* 


L 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


89 


Belonging  to  the  year  1798  is  an  important  work,  the  “  Portrait 
of  General  Urrutia”  (No.  736  of  the  Museo  del  Prado).  We  see 
here  this  soldier  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  and  shortly  after 
having  been  named  Captain-General  of  the  army.  His  brilliant 
career  had  ended,  for  from  this  time  forward,  forgetting  his  suc¬ 
cesses,  no  command  was  offered  to  him,  and  he  died  neglected  a 
little  later  in  1800,  since  his  independent  character  did  not  permit 
him  to  become  a  courtier  of  Godoy. 

This  work,  considered  artistically,  is  a  beautiful  example,  solid 
and  strong,  of  this  period  of  the  artist.  The  faultless  head,  well 
constructed  and  finely  proportioned,  its  characteristic  features 
clearly  marked,  gives  an  idea  of  absolute  realism.  It  is  very  refined 
in  treatment,  and  its  refinement  is  heightened  by  the  richness  of 
the  colouring  of  the  rest  of  the  canvas.  The  sky  of  the  background 
is  not  one  of  those  skies  which  had  delighted  Goya  in  years  before, 
light  and  delicate  of  hue;  it  is  relatively  obscure  and  leaden 
coloured,  and  foretells  those  other  works  where  this  note  is  more 
exaggerated  in  later  years,  as  we  shall  come  to  observe.  In  the 
lower  corner  on  the  right  maybe  read  the  inscription:  “  Goya,  The 
General  Urrutia.” 

This  portrait,  which  is  in  the  Prado  Museum,  having  come 
there  from  the  sale  of  the  collection  of  the  Duque  de  Osuna,  appears 
as  mentioned  in  the  archives  of  the  family,  and  by  the  documentary 
information  preserved  there,  which  includes  the  account  for  the 
price  of  the  work,  we  can  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  its  date.  This 
statement  is  as  follows: 


“  Madrid  27th.  of  June  1798. 

“  Don  Francisco  Goya.  Painter.  His  account  for  a  full  length 
portrait  which  he  has  done  for  the  house  of  His  Excellency  in  this 
Court,  representing  the  Captain  General  D.  José  Urrutia,  which 
amounts  to 

“  Reales  de  Vellón  .  .  .  6,000” 

N 


90 


FRANCISCO  CxOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


In  these  archives,  where  we  have  already  seen  some  facts  of 
great  value  referring  to  Goya,  we  meet  with  another  object  of 
interest,  which  is  a  receipt  dated  a  few  months  after  the  preceding, 
on  4  January  1799,  by  D.  Agustín  Esteve,  of  12,000  reales  for  the 
full-length  portraits  of  the  four  children  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess, 
D.  Francisco,  D.  Pedro,  Da.  Josefa,  and  Da.  Joaquina,  priced  at 
3,000  reales  each.  The  portrait  of  the  elder  of  these,  D.  Francisco, 
must  be  without  doubt  the  one  which  has  been  studied  and  repro¬ 
duced,  where  he  appears  standing  upright,  seen  against  a  curtain,  and 
with  a  telescope  in  a  window  which  is  on  the  right  of  the  canvas. 

This  work  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Duque  de  Tovar, 
who  gives.it  the  following  very  correct  attribution:  “Portrait  by 
D.  F.  Goya  and  D.  Agustín  Esteve.”  lYrsons  of  very  high  authority 
have  recognized  in  it  the  art  of  Goya  in  many  details,  and  give 
it  correctly  as  belonging  to  Goya.  Goya  in  his  commission  for  this 
work  would  have  had  the  assistance  of  his  pupil  Esteve,  and  this 
last  would  take  his  share  in  the  receipts  of  the  painting  in  which  there 
is  but  little  by  his  hand.  And  once  we  have  accepted  this  simple 
and  reasonable  explanation  we  must  likewise  admit  what  follows 
from  it,  and  consider  that  there  are  not  a  few  portraits  going  about 
the  world  attributed  to  Goya,  completely  inspired  by  his  art,  painted 
perhaps  in  his  own  studio  with  like  colours  and  materials,  on  the 
same  canvases  as  those  of  the  master,  and  which,  none  the  less,  are  by 
Esteve,  who  worked  with  and  assisted  him  constantly  in  those  years. 

Of  the  same  year  as  the  portrait  of  General  U rrutia,  in  1 798,  there 
is  another  portrait  of  different  technique,  but  likewise  a  work,  in  a 
certain  measure,  of  parade  and  ostentation.  This  is  the  “  Portrait 
of  F'.  Guillemardet,  Ambassador  of  the  French  Republic  in  Spain” 
of  that  date.  This  work  is  in  the  Musée  du  Louvre,  No.  1704  of 
the  catalogue  (Plate  25). 

The  presence  of  this  man  as  ambassador  in  the  court  of  a 
Bourbon  is  a  strange  occurrence.  Guillemardet  was  a  village  doctor, 
who,  carried  away  by  revolutionary  ideas,  took  part  in  Prench  politics 


F.  GUILLEMARDET 


Plate  XXVII 


(p.  90) 


üi  .  .. 


1^. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


91 


after  the  fall  of  the  Bastille.  As  a  deputy  of  the  Convention  he 
voted  for  the  death  of  Louis  XVI ;  he  later  joined  with  the  men  of 
Thermidor,  and  pursued  mercilessly  the  Terrorists,  from  whose 
clutches  he  had  miraculously  escaped  before.  Having  now  become 
a  partisan  of  the  Directoire,  this  government  made  him  a  great 
man  and  sent  him  as  ambassador  to  Spain  in  1798,  in  order  that, 
in  conjunction  with  D.  Manuel  Godoy,  courtier  and  minister  of  a 
Bourbon,  they  should  plan  out  between  them  the  most  direct  and 
certain  road  to  Trafalgar.  His  stay  in  Madrid  was  not  a  long  one. 
Recalled  by  Buonaparte,  when  he  was  elected  First  Consul,  he 
had  to  content  himself  with  the  Prefecture  of  Charente  Inférieure 
and  later  of  the  Allier.  Guillemardet  died  in  a  state  of  insanity  in 
the  year  1808,  leaving  to  posterity  a  page  of  revolutionary  activity 
and  a  portrait  painted  by  Goya.  Goya  here  represents  the  ambassador 
as  seated,  with  a  slightly  bombastic  appearance,  his  figure  almost  in 
profile,  but  turning  his  head  towards  the  spectator.  He  wears  his 
official  dress,  blue,  with  red,  white,  and  blue  sash,  and  a  sword  which 
appears  in  the  front  of  the  painting.  Behind  him,  on  a  table  covered 
with  a  blue  cloth,  is  seen  a  large  hat  with  feathers,  and  the  famous 
tricolour  cockade.  In  this  work,  in  the  details  it  contains,  in  its 
arrangement  and  colouring,  we  find  a  difference  from  others  by 
Goya  in  the  same  years.  If  we  did  not  know  its  exact  date  it  might 
be  difficult  to  assign  it. 

Also  belonging  to  this  year  1798  is  a  portrait  of  special  interest, 
more  for  its  importance  as  a  portrait  than  a  work  of  art,  which 
Goya  made  of  his  friend,  the  great  Jove  Llanos,  to-day  belonging  to 
the  Duque  de  las  Torres  (Madrid)  (Plate  26). 

Jove  Llanos,  open  to  all  ideas,  infiuenced  in  a  decisive  manner 
by  the  French  Encyclopedia,  was  nevertheless  able  to  preserve  that 
essentially  Spanish  character  which  distinguishes  his  mental  out¬ 
look,  not  handing  himself  over,  like  Fray  Benito  Feijóo,  to  foreign 
infiuence  unrestrainedly  and  to  the  superficial  universality  of  know¬ 
ledge  claimed  by  the  encyclopedists  apart  from  their  real  greatness, 


92 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


A  man  of  discipline  and  activity,  his  task  was  to  create  and  work, 
and  the  fruit  of  this  work  was  the  Spanish  Institute  of  Studies 
of  Secondary  Instruction.  A  lover  of  art  and  beauty,  he  wrote 
not  a  little  in  favour  of  the  popularization  of  Fine  Arts,  and  in  his 
panegyric  of  Ventura  Rodriguez  he  described,  in  an  admirable 
manner,  the  character  and  antiquity  of  Gothic  art  in  Spanish 
cathedrals.  In  literature,  in  his  theatrical  works  and  poetry,  he 
meets  us  always  as  a  writer  of  solid  merit;  and  there  are  some  points 
in  his  productions  which  bring  him  before  us  as  a  precursor  of  our 
romanticism,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  manifestations  of  the 
Spanish  genius  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Jove  Llanos,  a  man  of 
his  time  and  much  before  the  public,  with  his  coat,  powdered  wig, 
and  small  sword,  was  nevertheless  the  most  complete  representative 
of  our  culture  in  those  years,  and  was  able,  without  disdaining  the 
spirit  of  the  age  in  Europe  and  especially  in  France,  to  know  how 
to  cast  it  in  an  eminently  Spanish  die  formed  in  the  school  of  the 
Humanists. 

It  would  seem  natural  that  the  portrait  made  by  Goya  of  Jove 
Llanos  should  have  represented  a  great  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
artist,  and  should  have  been  a  very  complete  work;  but  this  was 
not  entirely  so.  Moreover,  having  been  very  badly  treated  in  its 
time,  it  has  suffered  very  considerable  restoration ;  and  this,  although 
cleverly  carried  out,  none  the  less  leaves  us  the  impression  of  a 
picture  which  in  its  present  condition  has  been  indifferently  pre¬ 
served.  The  famous  native  of  Asturias  in  this  full-length  portrait, 
seated  and  resting  his  head  on  his  left  hand  and  the  arm  beneath 
it  on  a  table,  regards  the  spectator  in  a  reflective  attitude.  A  statue 
of  Minerva  is  seen  in  the  background.  In  his  right  hand  the  sitter 
holds  a  paper  on  which  is  written:  “  Jovellanos  por  Goya.” 

The  date  of  this  portrait  has  been  a  matter  of  much  discussion. 
Von  Loga  puts  it  down  to  the  year  1780.  The  possessor  of  the 
portrait  itself,  D.  Antonio  Botija,  at  the  time  of  the  exhibition  of 
Goya’s  works  in  1900,  asserted  that  this  work  had  been  painted  in 


JOVE  LLANOS 


Plate  XXVIII 


(p.  91) 


/> 


' 


f 


■  t'.  ' 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


93 


Jadraque  in  the  year  1808,  when  Goya  and  Jove  Llanos  met  in  the 
house  of  Saavedra,  on  the  occasion  of  the  return  of  Llanos  from 
his  exile  in  Majorca.  Everything  makes  this  date  seem  probable; 
in  fact,  at  that  date  in  the  picturesque  Jadraque — an  historic  village 
on  the  banks  of  the  Henares,  dominated  by  an  ancient  and  ruined 
castle,  famous  since  the  ninth  century,  which  served  as  a  prison 
for  the  son  of  Amzu,  Califa  of  Toledo — these  three  famous 
persons  had  met.  Jove  Llanos  stayed  there  for  some  time;  and  in 
the  famous  mansion  where  he  lodged  is  even  preserved  his  chamber, 
with  the  furniture  and  objects  of  its  period.  However,  judging  by 
all  these  dates,  and  by  what  tradition  has  handed  down  in  Jadraque, 
the  portrait  was  not  of  that  year.  D,  Elias  Tormo,  with  great 
judgement,  supposed  it  of  the  intervening  period  between  1788  and 
1800.  In  my  first  edition  of  “Goya.  Pintor  de  Retratos,”  I  was  not 
able  to  assign  to  it  a  certain  date.  Since  then,  thanks  to  the  labours 
of  the  distinguished  and  learned  writer,  Don  Julio  Somoza  y 
Garcia-Sala,  I  am  convinced  that  the  portrait  is  of  the  year  1798.^ 

With  this  portrait  that  of  Saavedra  by  Goya  which  is  at  Paris 
in  the  possession  of  the  distinguished  academician,  Baron  Cochin,^ 
is  closely  connected. 

Something  similar  to  what  we  have  already  noticed  in  the 
portrait  already  mentioned  of  Guillemardet  appears  in  another  not 
less  important  work  dated  in  the  year  following,  in  1799.  This  is 
the  portrait  of  D.  Manuel  Lapeña,  Marqués  de  Bondad  Real,  re¬ 
presented  as  standing  full  length  and  in  front  view,  wearing  the 
uniform  of  Colonel  of  the  Guards,  the  Cross  of  Calatrava,  and  the 
baton  of  command.  His  figure  is  seen  against  a  delicately  painted 
background,  with  a  sky  covered  with  light  grey  clouds,  and  in  the 
middle  distance  some  buildings  which  could  very  well  be  the 
barracks  of  Vicalvaro  or  of  Aranjuez,  before  which  some  soldiers, 
who  give  us  the  sensation  of  being  little  toy  soldiers  rather  than  of 

'  The  reader  may  consult  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  p.  151. 

■  The  reader  may  consult  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  p.  153,  and  plate  59. 


94 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


flesh  and  bone,  are  exercising.  On  the  sand,  in  the  first  plane,  there 
is  a  large  inscription  which  says:  “  D.  Manuel  Lapeña  P.  Goya 
año  1799.”  To  judge  by  the  delicacy  shown  in  this  picture,  and  by 
its  signature,  date,  and  undisputable  originality,  taken  as  a  whole 
there  is  something  uncommon  in  it,  diflerentiating  it  from  the 
works  of  Goya  produced  in  those  years.  Can  it  perhaps  be  that 
the  sitter  had  indicated  to  Goya  his  own  wish  that  the  portrait 
should  be  more  in  detail  than  others  from  his  hand;  and  that  the 
painter  in  consequence  made  this  work,  which — without  being  an 
official  mask,  since  it  is,  as  I  have  remarked,  minutely  finished — 
has  something  in  the  carriage  of  the  sitter,  and,  above  all,  in  the 
appearance  of  military  discipline  it  transmits,  that  could  be  inter¬ 
preted  as  a  delicate  irony? 

However,  apart  from  some  works  of  Goya,  like  the  last  men¬ 
tioned,  which  are  really  an  exception  to  the  progress  of  development 
of  this  painter’s  art,  his  general  production  is  very  different,  and 
resembles  the  works  we  have  studied  as  typical  of  the  painting  in 
this  period  of  his  life.  Thus  it  does  not  appear  to  us  a  mistake  to 
think  that  with  them  can  be  mentioned  others  whose  date  is  actually 
later.  Among  these  are  the  “  Portrait  of  the  Draughtsman  Pérez 
de  Castro,”  now  for  some  years  in  the  Musee  du  Louvre,  and  the 
“  Portrait  of  Dr.  Peral,”  belonging  to  the  National  Gallery  of 
London,  works  in  which  the  grey  note  predominates;  and  two 
other  portraits  besides,  strong  and  full  of  colour,  tending  towards 
the  art  about  to  dominate  the  artist  in  the  succeeding  years,  both 
being  portraits  of  unknown  persons.  One  of  these  is  of  an  engraver, 
to  judge  by  the  tools  he  holds  in  his  hand;  the  other  is  the  bust  of 
a  man  with  a  black  greatcoat  and  a  large  white  neckcloth.  Both 
these  works  were  lately  in  Madrid,  but  have  since  then  come  into 
the  hands  of  the  great  dealers  in  London  in  search  of  a  buyer 
worthy  of  them;  and  they  must  have  found  one,  for  the  portraits 
of  these  two  unknown  persons — of  which,  as  I  say,  it  is  not  known 
whence  they  came,  or  whither  they  have  gone  to  stay — have  dis¬ 
appeared  from  the  exhibitions  and  the  market, 


THE  FAMILY  OF  CHARLES  IV 


"LATE  XXIX 


(P.  lOl) 


'Vlj 

•'A 


1 


r 


.1 


.  Í 


CHAPTER  V 


Goya  as  Court  Painter  in  the  Year  1799 
Portraits  of  the  Court 


“T  TIS  MAJESTY  wishing  to  reward  your  distinguished 
I  I  merit  and  to  give  in  person  a  testimonial  which  will  serve 
as  an  encouragement  to  all  professors,  showing  how  much 
he  appreciates  the  talent  and  knowledge  you  possess  of  the  noble 
art  of  painting,  has  vouchsafed  to  name  you  as  his  Chief  Court 
Painter  with  the  yearly  salary  of  50,000  reales  de  vellón,  which  you 
will  receive  from  this  date;  and  moreover  500  ducats  yearly  for 
carriage  expenses ;  it  being  also  his  will  that  you  should  occupy  the 
house  at  present  inhabited  by  D.  Mariano  Maella,  in  the  case  of 
his  dying  before  you.  I  make  this  known  to  you  by  the  Royal 
Command  for  your  own  satisfaction,  and  I  do  so  under  this  date 
at  the  Ministry  of  Grace  and  Justice  and  Exchequer  for  your  own 
ordering  and  fulfilling. 

“May  God  preserve  you  for  many  years. — San  Lorenzo,  31 
October  1799. 

“  Mariano  Lues  de  Urquijo. 

“  Sr.  D.  Francisco  de  Goya.” 

Such  is  the  ordinance  in  which  Goya  was  named  First  Painter 
of  the  Court.  A  firm  and  tenacious  will,  and  a  constant  industry 
at  the  service  of  a  powerful  talent,  had  made  of  that  little  boy,  who 
had  been  born  fifty-three  years  before  of  a  family  of  rustics  in  the 
village  of  Fuendetodos,  the  most  conspicuous  painter  in  Spain. 
The  contentment  of  Goya,  his  emotion,  and  his  gratitude  are 
reflected  in  the  letter  in  which  he  gave  the  notice  to  his  old  friend 
Zapater,  so  that  he  should  spread  the  good  news  in  Zaragoza. 


95 


90 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


“  I  offer  to  you  all  that  this  order  expresses  and  I  want  you  to 
do  it  in  my  name  in  your  house,  and  to  all  friends  without  forgetting 
those  of  the  Calle  de  la  Sartén:  I  have  no  more  time,  good-bye. 

“  Being  on  the  point  of  entering  my  carriage  to  go  to  Madrid 
whence  I  am  writing  to  you,  I  have  to-day  received  your  letter,  and 
Flsteve  to  whom  I  sent  this  copy  of  the  favour  which  the  King  has 
done  me,  will  save  me  repeating  it,  receive  it  with  all  my  heart  and 
offer  it  to  Goicoechea  with  my  best  regards  and  to  Yoldi,  and  to 
all  friends.  I  will  write  to  you  later  on  for  it  is  very  late,  and  I  am 
worn  out.  The  Sovereigns  are  mad  about  your  friend 

“  Goya.” 

And  Goya  was  mad  with  contentment,  as  we  see  from  his 
simple  and  spontaneous  letter.  It  often  happens  that,  when  fortune 
and  fame  are  attained  after  great  efforts,  those  who  acquire  them 
think  that  the  hardships  are  already  ended  which  intense  and 
constant  labour  carries  with  it;  and,  satisfied  with  what  they  have 
already  learnt,  they  repeat  what  has  become  easy  for  them,  while 
their  art  becomes  mannered  and  decays  irretrievably.  This  result, 
which  I  have  qualified  as  frequent,  could,  I  believe,  be  described  as 
general,  for  unfortunately  there  are  very  few  exceptions.  And  one 
of  the  most  striking  exceptions  in  this  respect  was  Goya. 

Our  painter  had  attained  the  maximum  of  facility  and  rapidity 
of  execution  years  before.  \Ye  have  pointed  out  and  studied  this 
in  speaking  of  his  portraits,  such  as  that  of  the  Marquesa  de  la 
Solana,  in  its  tendency  to  grey  tones,  and  those  of  the  Duquesa  de 
Alba,  less  showy  but  no  less  masterly  and  easy.  Having  attained 
the  effect  which  he  sought  to  give  his  works  through  the  note  of 
grey,  having  mastered  his  technique  up  to  a  point  which  could  be 
called  perfect,  as  is  shown  in  the  head  of  the  portrait  of  Bayeu,  it 
would  not  be  improbable  that  Goya,  relying  on  his  own  knowledge 
and  repeating  this  note,  should  have  continued  his  production 
without  great  effort  up  to  the  end  of  his  days.  And  yet  this  was 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


97 


not  the  case;  and  the  creations  of  these  years,  the  last  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  the  first  of  the  nineteenth,  show  him  with 
new  powers,  always  in  search  of  a  personal  art  inspired  by  reality, 
attaining  even  higher  results  than  in  the  preceding  works,  and 
gaining  above  all  in  richness  and  truth  of  colour.  These  years  are 
those  which  can  and  should  be  called  the  great  years  of  Goya,  the 
years  of  his  triumphs  and  of  his  splendour,  of  his  life  as  a  courtier 
and  his  great  attainment  as  an  artist.  The  great  portraits  of  the 
sovereigns  and  of  the  persons  of  the  court,  to-day  preserved  in  the 
Museo  del  Prado  and  the  royal  palace,  coincide  exactly  with  the 
date  when  he  was  named  First  Court  Painter. 

His  fame  as  a  portraitist  had  reached  the  court;  the  great 
ladies  and  nobles  of  the  period  sought  to  have  their  portrait  by 
Goya,  and  no  less  so  the  sovereigns  and  the  royal  family.  It  is 
known  that  the  date  of  these  great  portraits  is  from  1799  to  1800.^ 
I  am  able  to  bring  forward  something  of  uncommon  interest,  some 


'  There  exists  the  account  and  order  for  payment,  made  known  by  the  Conde  de 
la  Viñaza  in  his  “Goya.”  It  is  interesting  and  I  think  ought  to  be  reproduced.  It  is 
as  follows: 

“  Account  of  D.  Francisco  de  Goya,  First  Court  Painter  of  His  Majesty,  of  the  ex¬ 
penses  incurred  in  his  stay  at  Aranjuez  to  execute  the  portraits  of  Their  Majesties 


and  the  Royal  P'amily. 

Canvases  and  stretchers  for  the  said  ten  portraits,  I  paid  ....  980 

Two  cases  to  hold  them  and  their  carriage,  I  paid  ......  420 

A  large  canvas  to  contain  the  whole  Ro3'al  P'amily . 860 

Carriages,  four  journeys  ...........  1140 

Expenses  for  maintenance  ..........  3200 

Six  ounces  of  gold  which  the  Queen  sent  me  to  pay  Dacher  and  to  include 

them  in  my  expenses,  according  to  the  accompanying  receipt  .  .  .  1920 


To  D.  Manuel  Ezquerra  y  Trapaga  for  colours  and  other  goods  pertaining  to 

the  faculty  of  painting . .  .  .2114 

10634 

“Madrid  13th.  June  1800.— Francisco  de  Goya. — The  Palace  27th.  July  1800. 
The  Lord  Chamberlain.” 

“  Your  Excellency.  Notifying  under  this  date  the  Treasurer  General  to  make  good 
to  the  Court  Painter  D.  Francisco  de  Goya  the  10,634  reales  which  his  expenses  have 

O 


98 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


hitherto  unpublished  letters  which  have  been  kept  in  the  secret 
archives  of  the  palace;  letters  of  an  intimate  character  from  the 
Queen  Maria  Luisa  to  Godoy,  which  gave  us  the  exact  notice  of 
the  years,  even  the  months  and  place,  in  which  each  of  these 
portraits  was  painted.  I  only  propose  to  give  here  those  paragraphs 
which  refer  to  the  pictures  of  Goya. 

The  first  in  point  of  time  of  all  the  portraits  composing  this 
series  is  the  one  where  the  queen,  standing  upright,  her  figure  seen 
against  a  very  delicate  landscape,  is  wearing  the  dress  of  a  ]iiaja. 
She  has  on  a  black  silk  skirt,  an  orange-coloured  bodice  with  short 
sleeves,  and  a  silk  lace  mantilla.  Keeping  to  the  rigorous  accepta¬ 
tion  of  what  is  the  maja  dress,  which  carries  generally  something 
very  showy  in  its  colour,  in  its  form,  and  in  its  cut,  this  dress  of 
the  queen  would  not  be  a  typical  example;  however,  in  those  years 
the  innovation  which  it  represents,  the  influence  which  it  shows  of 
popular  costume,  the  mantilla,  the  upper  skirt,  the  way  of  dressing 
the  hair,  the  bow  on  the  head,  and  the  white  embroidered  shoes 
with  their  high  heels,  give  us  the  characteristics  of  the  costume  of 
the  people.  It  should  be  remembered  that  a  decree  of  the  period 
prohibited  ladies  from  wearing  the  inaja  dress,  on  account  of 
the  showy  character  which  it  presented.  For  this  reason  ladies 
of  high  standing,  the  queen  among  the  first,  made  a  compromise 
by  inventing  this  fashion,  this  dress  with  the  cut  of  the  maja 
dress,  but  without  the  vivid  colours,  black  or  of  very  subdued 
colours. 

amounted  to  for  the  ten  portraits  of  the  King  Our  Lord  and  his  August  Family,  I 
advise  this  to  Vour  Excellency  for  your  guidance.  May  God,  etc. — San  Ildefonso, 
/th.  August  1800. — Miguel  Cayetano  Soler. — Sr.  Marqués  de  .Ariza.”  (.Arch  de  Pal.) 

“In  compliance  with  the  Royal  Command  of  the  30th.  of  January  and  the  7th.  of 
August  of  1800  the  originals  of  which  are  here  included,  they  will  pay  to  the  Court 
Painter  D.  Francisco  de  Goya  twenty  four  thousand  and  eighty  eight  reales  de  vellón, 
the  amount  of  the  c.xpenses  incurred  in  the  two  paintings  of  the  portraits  of  Their 
Majesties  and  the  Royal  P'amily  for  which  he  gave  two  receipts  with  the  same  date 
as  the  above  mentioned  Royal  Orders,  one  of  13,454  reales  and  the  other  of  10,634.” 
(Archivo  grab  de  Simancas,  Dirección  del  Tesoro,  invento  16,  guión  23,  leg.  32.) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


99 


Of  this  portrait  we  know  two  identical  examples,  one  in  the 
royal  palace  at  Madrid  which  I  consider  the  better,  the  stronger, 
that  which  through  the  study  of  character  appearing  in  the  head 
shows  itself  to  be  the  first  of  these,  the  one  done  from  the  living 
model;  and  the  second  in  the  Prado  Museum  (No.  728  of  the 
catalogue),  very  delicate  but  less  secure,  which  I  consider  as  a  fine 
replica  of  the  one  preserved  in  the  palace. 

The  letters  I  have  mentioned  inform  us  when  and  where  this 
portrait  was  painted.  In  one  of  them  Maria  Luisa  says  to  Godoy: 

“San  Ildefonso  24th.  Sept.  1799. 

“Goya  is  painting  my  portrait  in  full  length  with  a  mantilla; 
they  tell  me  it  is  coming  out  well,  and  when  I  go  to  the  Escorial  I 
will  go  on  horseback,  for  I  wish  him  to  paint  Marcial.”  ^ 

The  letter  here  quoted  speaks  to  us  of  the  portrait  on  horse¬ 
back  preserved  in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  720),  where  the  august 
lady  is  riding  Marcial  astride,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
wearing  the  uniform  of  a  Colonel  of  the  Body  Guard.  The  exact 
date  of  this  equestrian  portrait  is  made  known  to  us  in  another  of 
these  letters,  in  which  the  queen  says  as  follows: 

“  San  Lorenzo,  9th.  October  1799. 

“The  portrait  on  horseback  has  been  completed  in  three  sit¬ 
tings,  and  they  tell  me  it  is  even  more  like  than  the  one  with  the 
mantilla.” 

The  three  sittings  referred  to  in  this  letter  would  clearly  have 
been  those  necessary  for  drawing  in  the  figure,  the  head,  and  the 
general  lines  of  the  body.  This  equestrian  portrait,  a  very  superior 
work  to  its  companion  picture  of  the  king,  I  consider  of  very  great 
importance.  The  painter  is  searching  for  his  effect  as  a  whole,  for 
the  general  scheme  and  appearance,  and  really  attains  it.  The 
artist  shows  here  his  new  effort  and  tendency  towards  an  art  as 

’  A  horse  presented  by  Godoy  to  the  queen  a  little  before  this, 


lOO 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


involved  and  as  synthetic  as  that  which  he  attained  years  before  in 
his  portraits  in  grey;  but  he  looks  for  and  attains  it  now  with  a 
combination  less  monochrome  and  more  robust.  In  no  way  is  his 
character  of  purely  Spanish  painting  lost;  but  he  goes  on  in¬ 
dividualizing  it  to  such  an  extent  that  he  keeps  it  far  away  from 
those  Spanish  antecedents  to  which  this  work  might  have  compared. 
The  work  is  eminently  pure  in  style;  it  follows  his  latest  utterance, 
which  is  always  the  same  and  that  of  his  nation ;  it  speaks  to  us 
always  in  Spanish,  but  with  its  own  tendency  and  technique  it  tells 
us  things  completely  new  which  up  to  then  no  painter  had  uttered. 

This  work  resembles  in  no  way  the  equestrian  portraits  painted 
by  Velazquez,  and  much  less  similar  compositions  of  other  schools. 
An  original  work  is  this,  complete  and  impressive,  and  one  which 
did  not  pass  unnoticed  by  a  great  Erench  painter  when  he  made  a 
now  famous  equestrian  portrait.  I  refer  to  Henri  Regnault  in  his 
portrait  of  General  Prim,  preserved  in  the  Musée  du  Louvre.  The 
arrangement  of  this  portrait  is  different;  but  the  general  plan  of 
the  picture,  and  above  all  the  relation  of  the  values  of  the  head 
with  the  sky  against  which  it  stands  out,  giving  it  distance  and 
the  sensation  of  the  surroundings  and  of  atmosphere,  is  what 
Regnault  certainly  had  studied  in  this  Goya  portrait.  This  method 
was  a  novelty  in  that  time,  and  the  keen  discernment  of  Regnault 
was  great  in  having  noticed  it,  and  drawn  from  it  his  inspiration. 
I  permit  myself  here  to  call  attention  to  this  observation  of  my  own 
as  being  the  first  of  a  series  of  influences  I  have  to  note  of  the  art 
of  Goya  upon  the  painters  of  the  period  of  Regnault.  I  shall  in¬ 
dicate  them  further  in  their  proper  place. 

In  a  letter  a  little  later  the  Queen  says  to  the  Minister; 

“  15th.  October 

“  I  am  also  glad  you  liked  the  portraits,  and  I  hope  that  Goya 
will  paint  the  copies  well  for  you.  I  also  want  you  to  have  another 
copy  done  by  Estevez  of  the  one  with  the  mantilla  and  the  one 


THE  INFANTA  MARIA  LUISA 


■  Plate  XXX 


(p.  107) 


i'* 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


lOI 


on  horseback,  so  that  you  may  have  Marcial  always  alive  or 
present  .  . 

Perhaps  this  copy — that  which  Goya  had  to  make  of  the  por¬ 
trait  with  the  mantilla — may  be  the  one  to-day  preserved  in  the 
museum;  as  regards  those  Esteve  had  to  execute,  if  indeed  they 
ever  were  carried  out,  I  know  absolutely  nothing  about  them. 

In  a  letter  of  a  few  months  later  in  the  year  following  we  find 
some  interesting  notices: 

“  Aranjuez  22nd.  April  1800 

“  My  friend  Manuel,  we  are  very  glad  to  hear  you  are  well,  as 
well  as  your  wife  who  we  hope  will  go  on  well  until  everything 
is  over;  we  are  also  glad  that  she  is  going  to  be  painted,  and  if 
Goya  can  do  the  work  there  well  and  really  like  her  it  would  be 
better  he  should  do  so  for  in  that  way  we  shall  be  free  from  any 
disturbance,  but  if  it  does  not  come  out  well  let  him  come  here, 
although  we  should  be  disturbed  by  it  .  . 

And  King  Charles  IV  himself  in  the  same  letter  writes  to  say: 

“  Let  Goya  do  the  portrait  of  your  wife  and  having  painted  it 
let  him  return  to  the  Sitio  to  paint  the  portraits  of  all  together.” 

This  portrait  of  all  together  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  family 
of  Charles  IV,  one  of  the  most  important  works  preserved  in  the 
Museo  del  Prado,  No.  726  (Plate  27). 

Charles  IV,  and  Maria  Luisa  occupy  the  centre  of  the  picture, 
the  latter  holding  by  the  left  hand  the  little  D.  Francisco  de  Paula 
Antonio  and  clasping  with  the  right  hand  the  Infanta  Maria  Isabel. 
On  the  left  of  the  canvas  a  group  is  formed  by  the  first-born.  Prince 
of  Asturias,  in  the  foreground  with  his  brother,  Carlos  Maria  Isidro, 
behind  him ;  next  these  is  Maria  Antonia  who  married  the  prince  two 
years  later,  and  more  in  the  background,  looking  out  with  her  owlish 
face,  is  Maria  Josefa  de  Bourbon,  elder  sister  of  Charles  IV.  On 
the  right  of  the  composition  is  the  young  married  couple  composed 


102 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


of  Prince  Luis  de  Parma,  afterwards  King  of  Etruria,  and  his  wife 
Maria  Luisa,  with  a  baby  girl  in  her  arms;  and  between  this  group 
and  the  figure  of  the  king  we  see  the  heads  of  the  Infante  D.  Antonio, 
brother  of  Charles  IV,  and  the  Infanta  Carlota  Joaquina.  The 
court  painter  himself  appears  in  the  background  before  a  great 
canvas — I  will  not  venture  to  say  painting,  and  much  less  painting 
this  scene,  since  he  is  turning  his  back  upon  it,  and  moreover  in 
the  corner  where  he  has  placed  himself  there  is  no  light  for  anyone 
to  paint. 

d'he  description  of  this  family  group  and  the  name  of  each  one 
of  the  persons  have  been  handed  down  to  us  securely  by  D.  Pedro 
de  Madrazo  in  his  descriptive  and  historical  catalogue  of  the  Prado 
Museum,  and  by  D.  Cristóbal  Eerriz,  who  is  so  competent  in  these 
matters  that  I  leave  aside  any  other  description  than  his,  which 
entirely  agrees  with  that  of  Madrazo  in  the  schedule  referring  to 
this  work,  in  the  Junta  de  Iconografia  Nacional.  Lately,  however, 
1).  Joaquin  Ezquerra  del  Hayo  has  published  a  clever  article, 
according  to  which  the  figure  described  in  the  catalogue  as  Maria 
Antonia  of  Naples  would  be  no  other  than  the  Infanta  Carlota 
Joaquina;  and  the  figure  which  in  the  traditional  description  was 
this  Infanta  would  be,  conformably  to  this  rectification,  the  Infanta 
Maria  Amalia,  second  daughter  of  Charles  IV.  As  it  happened 
that  this  person  died  in  1798,  that  is  to  say  two  years  before  this 
picture  was  painted,  we  should  have  to  suppose  that  this  was  done 
by  memory  and  through  notes  made,  or  some  earlier  portrait.  I  do 
not  know  this  point  sufficiently  to  give  an  opinion  on  it.  The 
arguments  developed  by  Sr.  Ezquerra  del  Bayo  are  worthy  of 
consideration:  for  my  part  I  will  only  say  that  the  profile  head 
appearing  between  the  Prince  of  Parma  and  the  Infante  D.  Antonio, 
and  which  certainly,  it  maybe  remarked  in  passing,  does  not  come 
well  into  the  position  where  it  has  been  placed,  is  much  weaker 
than  the  rest  of  the  picture ;  and  this  seems  to  suggest  that  it  is  not 
from  nature,  but  made  from  some  portrait  no  longer  in  existence, 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


103 


On  the  other  hand,  this  lady  seems  much  older  than  would  have 
been  the  Infanta  Maria  Amalia,  who,  born  in  1779,  died  when  she 
was  only  nineteen  years  old,  on  27  July  1798.  I  do  not  know 
anything  more  on  this  point,  which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  consider 
of  secondary  interest. 

“The  Family  of  Charles  IV”  is  a  most  unique  work,  essen¬ 
tially  pictorial,  and  one  of  the  leading  works  which  painting  has 
produced  either  in  Spain  or  elsewhere.  It  reveals  the  powers  of  a 
mighty  artist  in  the  exact  moment  of  his  maturity  and  fullness,  and 
is  the  summary,  the  synthesis,  andthe  archetype  of  his  whole  creation. 
What  secret  can  this  picture  possess  which  attracts  and  fascinates, 
seduces  and  enchants?  It  cannot  be  certainly  through  the  composi¬ 
tion,  which  by  the  very  reason  of  its  natural  simplicity  becomes — 
with  all  these  figures  standing  upright  and  almost  in  a  row,  in  a 
series  of  vertical  lines — monotonous  and  unfortunate.  Some  slips 
in  the  drawing,  like  the  clumsy  legs  of  the  heir  to  the  throne, 
would  have  been  easy  to  remedy.  But  these  deficiencies  are  of 
little  importance  and  can  be  explained.  The  artist,  obsessed  by 
his  desire  to  attain  a  colour  which  was  true,  natural,  brilliant,  and 
an  effect  of  ensemble,  has  not  troubled  to  correct,  nor  wished  to 
think  of  any  other  thing  than  the  completion  of  his  purpose.  All  the 
colours  of  the  palette  are  represented  in  this  canvas,  a  fact  explained 
by  the  showy  dresses  of  the  court;  the  gold  tissue  and  the  silk,  the 
embroideries  worked  upon  plush,  the  sashes,  coats,  breeches,  and 
waistcoats  of  violet,  blue,  and  red,  and  the  vermilion  of  the  dress 
and  trousers  of  the  little  Infante  D.  Francisco  de  Paula,  domin¬ 
ating  and  giving  value  to  all  these  colours  and  tones,  make  the 
richest  combination  that  has  ever  issued  from  any  palette. 

And  as  if  the  colour  of  the  dresses  was  not  sufficient,  all  this 
has  been  still  more  highly  seasoned  by  the  tissue  of  gold,  the 
silver,  the  necklaces  of  precious  stones,  the  jewels,  the  small 
swords  with  hilts  of  marcasite  or  of  steel,  and  the  orders,  many 
set  with  diamonds  and  precious  stones. 


104 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


All  this  gleams  under  a  light  which,  coming  from  the  left, 
tully  illuminates  the  heads  and  figures  who  are  on  this  side,  and 
descends  diagonally  towards  the  feet  of  the  central  group  embracing 
equally  the  rest  of  the  foreground.  And  this  light  brings  into 
relation  all  these  figures  and  all  this  colour  with  such  justice  that, 
by  placing  everything  in  its  own  plane,  it  gives  exactly  the  sensation 
of  atmosphere  and  of  life.  The  mastery  of  the  art  of  painting  shown 
by  this  work  is  perhaps  what  we  admire  most  in  it;  for  here,  in  a 
few  days  of  work,  he  has  shown  us  all  the  knowledge  acquired  in 
fifty  odd  years  of  toil  and  constant  effort.  The  rendering  of  this 
picture  is  completely  free  and  original;  it  recalls  nothing  and  is 
like  nothing  else.  In  its  ensemble  it  has  been  made  from  a  first 
impression,  but  with  a  vigour  and  nervous  power  which  are  easily 
apparent.  It  is  truth  itself,  translated  from  nature  to  the  canvas 
without  formulas  or  preoccupations;  and  set  there  with  paint  brush, 
the  palette  knife,  the  finger,  and  with  the  soul,  with  a  spontaneity 
which  enchants  us,  for  it  has  something  in  it  of  the  childish,  and 
in  its  entirety  astonishes  us  by  its  many  traces  of  genius. 

This  group  of  persons  of  the  court  has  been  compared  with 
the  scene  which  occupies  one  of  the  most  famous  pictures  of 
\Alazcpiez,  “  Las  Meninas,”  and  which  has  been  justly  described  as 
the  theology  of  painting.  I  have  already  indicated  in  the  preceding 
chapters  what  Goya  had  learnt  from  Velazquez  in  his  tones,  in  his 
palette,  in  his  simplicity  of  treatment,  in  those  qualities  which  some 
might  describe  as  somewhat  commonplace,  but  which  are,  none  the 
less,  the  secret  of  painting.  But  when  once  the  continuity  of  this 
school  has  been  established  with  the  ancient  Spanish  painting  of 
the  time  of  Velazquez,  Goya  works  absolutely  on  his  own  account; 
and  in  this  work  of  his — even  though  both  represent  a  scene  at 
court,  and  the  respective  authors  have  in  both  put  in  their  own 
portraits  in  the  second  plane  on  the  left — I  fail  to  understand  that 
any  close  resemblance  can  be  found.  I  do  not  understand  it,  I 
repeat,  when  I  compare  the  one  work  with  the  other;  but  neverthe- 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


105 


less  I  appreciate  that  both  works,  without  appearing  to  show  it,  do 
possess  in  common  the  same  artistic  inspiration,  the  same  simplicity 
of  conception,  and  an  identical  sincerity  in  ultimate  expression. 
That  is  to  say,  that  what  brings  them  together  is  the  mysterious 
bond  which  connects  the  schools  of  art,  the  productions  due  to  the 
same  race  throughout  the  necessary  changes  which  different  times 
impose.  Speaking  of  “Las  Meninas”  a  Spanish  critic  has  said 
something  very  happy  and  exact,  which  could  be  applied  equally  to 
“The  Eamily  of  Charles  IV,”  although  neither  appears  to  resemble 
the  other: 

“  What  a  set  back  does  this  picture  give  to  all  those  who 
estimate  the  importance  of  works  of  art  according  to  the  transcendent 
qualities  of  the  subject!  Of  how  many  historical  or  religious  com¬ 
positions,  of  how  many  subject  pictures  have  we  not  for  ever  lost 
the  memory,  while  the  clear  unblemished  freshness  of  this  intimate 
family  scene  remains  the  same.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
picture  of  ‘  Las  Meninas  ’  (like  ‘  The  Family  of  Charles  IV  ’)  stirs 
our  emotions  to  a  high  point,  independently  of  the  subject  it 
represents ;  and  as  the  diverse  elements  contained  in  this  picture,  the 
lines,  colour,  light,  proportions,  chiaroscuro,  etc.,  all  have  no  other 
finality  than  that  of  art  itself,  it  can  be  deduced  that  the  attraction 
it  has  for  us  cannot  lose  its  intensity.” 

The  impression  which  the  works  of  Goya,  and  especially  “The 
Family  of  Charles  IV,”  produced  on  Mariano  Fortuny,  the  leading 
Spanish  painter  of  his  period,  was  a  profound  one.  When  Fortuny 
arrived  at  Madrid,  in  the  year  1867,  what  had  brought  him  there 
especially  was  the  desire  to  study  the  works  of  great  Spanish 
masters  and  to  copy  some  of  those  of  Velazquez.  Fie  prepared  a 
canvas  to  copy  “  Los  Borrachos.”  D.  Federico  de  Madrazo,  Director 
at  that  time  of  the  Museum,  to  help  the  young  Catalonian  artist, 
already  famous  in  the  world  of  art,  in  the  realization  of  his  copy 
under  the  best  conditions  of  light,  placed  the  original  painting  of 

p 


io6  FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 

Velazquez  in  the  room  now  devoted  to  the  works  of  Ribera,  where, 
hung’  in  the  centre  of  one  of  the  walls,  was  then  to  be  found  the 
canvas  of  “The  Family  of  Charles  IV.”  Fortuny  saw  and  compared, 
studied  and  understood  the  greater  advantage  which,  given  his 
(jualities  as  colourist,  could  be  obtained  by  copying  Goya.  From 
that  time  dates  the  group  made  by  him — a  perfect  copy,  whose 
fame  brought  all  the  painters  of  Madrid  at  that  time  to  the  Museo 
del  Prado — of  the  central  part  of  this  picture,  and  which  is  to-day 
preserved  in  the  choice  collection  of  the  Comte  de  Pradere  in  Paris. 
Becoming  more  and  more  fascinated  by  the  art  of  Goya,  Fortuny 
made  use  of  his  stay  in  Madrid  to  take  other  copies  of  this  master’s 
work,  such  as  the  portrait  of  Rayen,  which  belonged  to  the  collection 
of  the  Marquesa  de  Carcano  (Paris),  the  portrait  of  Mocarte,  and 
that  of  Julici.  Just  as  Goya,  eighty  years  before,  had  copied  Velaz- 
cpiez,  so  did  Fortuny  afterwards  copy  Goya.  The  link  between  the 
greatest  figures  of  each  epoch  of  Spanish  painting  continued  un¬ 
broken  in  its  splendid  tradition. 

The  enthusiasm  which  the  art  of  Goya  had  awakened  in 
Fortuny  remained  constant;  and  when,  years  afterwards,  having 
become  a  fashionable  painter  and  famous  in  Paris,  he  could  impose 
his  opinion  on  the  dealers,  he  pointed  out  to  them  the  advantage 
of  buying  and  exhibiting  some  works  of  Goya.  Goupil  bought  a 
portrait,  but  had  it  many  years  before  he  could  sell  it  to  advantage. 
Those  years  had  not  even  yet  arrived,  fortunately  present  with  us 
now,  which  Quintana  predicted  when  he  wrote: 

.  .  .  Yes,  the  day  will  come. 

Will  likewise  come,  O  Goya!  when  to  thy  name 
The  ecstatic  stranger  will  bow  down. 

I  promise  you  this;  the  happy  audacity 
Of  your  ardent  brush,  the  boldness, 

The  beautiful  gesture,  the  tender  grace. 

That  brilliant  and  magic  harmony 

With  which  in  your  beautiful  tints  the  colours 

Of  the  light,  of  the  dawn  and  of  the  Orient, 

Show  themselves  as  conquerors 


DON  MANUEL  GODOY 


Plate  XXXI 


(p.  1 1 2) 


) 


■M 

■4 

‘  V  J 


ll  ■  ■ 

iinj) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


107 


Command  eternity.  Oh !  thou,  stranger, 

Who  abandoning  thy  paternal  hearth 
To  see  and  to  admire  across  the  seas 
Keep  joyfully  on  your  way 

And  come  to  Spain.  Two  centuries  of  ignorance 
Have  not  been  able  to  extinguish  the  divine  flame 
Which  lit  up  Murillo  and  Velazquez. 

With  it  Nature  adorns  the  brow 
Of  Goya,  and  to  his  energetic  daring 
Yet  again  she  yields  herself. 

The  studies  for  the  picture  of  “The  Family  of  Charles  IV” 
were  painted  on  canvas  with  a  red  preparation.  It  should  be  observed 
that  the  tone  of  this  preparation  has  changed  in  comparison  with 
that  used  years  before  by  Goya  in  his  paintings;  it  is  more  ...  I  will 
not  dare  to  say  more  bright,  but  more  cold,  more  grey. 

The  Prado  Museum  contains  several  of  these  studies  of  heads; 
that  of  Doña  Maria  Josefa  (No.  729);  that  of  the  little  Infante  D. 
Francisco  de  Paula  Antonio  (No.  730),  in  half  length  and  reflecting 
all  the  infantile  charm  of  the  model;  that  of  D.  Carlos  Maria  Isidro 
(No.  731);  that  of  the  Prince  of  Parma  (No.  732),  and  that  of  the  In¬ 
fante  D.  Antonio  (No.  733).  I  am  aware  of  some  others  which  were 
dispersed,  I  do  not  know  when;  that  of  Prince  D.  Fernando,  to-day 
in  a  private  collection  in  Brussels;  that  of  the  Queen  Maria  Luisa, 
a  full  half  length-— not  identical  with  that  appearing  in  the  picture, 
since  she  wears  a  mantilla,  and  her  right  arm  and  hand  have  a 
different  movement-— is  preserved  in  the  Pinacoteca  at  Munich,  and 
last  of  all  the  most  beautiful  portrait  of  the  Infanta  Maria  Luisa 
with  her  baby  in  her  arms  (Plate  28). 

This  work  was  lately  in  Paris,  and  I  am  informed  that  it  has 
since  been  sold  for  a  North  American  collection.  The  two  last 
mentioned,  that  of  the  Queen  and  of  the  Infante,  are  real  portraits 
rather  than  studies.  I  imagine  that,  having  pleased  the  sitters,  the 
painter  finished  them,  covering  the  portions  of  canvas  which  in  the 
others  are  left  in  the  real  type  of  studies,  but  without  covering  the 
whole  of  the  canvas.  They  are  all  magnificent,  and  equally  realistic 


io8 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


and  simple.  Generally  speaking,  studies  for  portraits  or  groups  of 
this  kind  are  superior  in  artistic  interest  to  the  resulting  picture, 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  figures  resulting  from  them  when  they  pass 
into  the  finished  work.  However,  in  spite  of  the  general  truth  of 
this  observation,  I  think  that  in  this  case  the  figures  in  the  large 
painting  are  each  so  thoroughly  in  their  place,  and  form  such  a 
complete  and  just  combination,  that  they  come  out  artistically  even 
better  in  the  painting  than  in  the  preparatory  studies. 

With  these  studies  may  be  mentioned  two  others,  which,  if 
they  are  not  precisely  for  this  picture,  are  in  close  relation  to  it. 
One  of  them  is  the  head  and  shoulders  of  the  Infanta  Isabel,  after¬ 
wards  Oueen  of  the  two  Sicilies,  in  the  possession  of  the  iMarques 
de  Yiana;  and  the  other  is  the  portrait  of  Goya  himself,  likewise  a 
head  and  shoulders,  almost  the  same  as  that  appearing  in  his  figure 
of  the  large  painting.  This  work,  fine  in  quality  and  most  precious, 
was  acquired  by  the  distinguished  French  artist,  AT  Leon  Bonnat, 
and  appears  to-day  in  the  museum  founded  by  him  and  which 
bears  his  name  in  Bayonne.  Quite  recently  I  have  seen  in  Madrid 
another  portrait,  identical  with  this,  which  seems  to  me  more  like  a 
successful  copy  than  a  replica  by  Goya  of  the  one  before  mentioned. 

Of  the  period  of  the  great  work,  “The  Immily  of  Gharles  IV” 
we  know  of  a  letter  from  Goya  to  Zapater,  confirming  what  we 
were  already  aware  of;  that  is  to  say,  that  the  painter  was  highly 
thought  of  by  the  sovereigns,  so  much  so,  that  he  had  to  suffer 
from  the  intrigues  and  jealousies  of  those  persons  of  second  rank 
who  had  the  entrée  to  the  palace.  This  letter  says: 

“  I  am  somewhat  better  and  stronger:  to-day  I  have  been  to 
see  My  Lord  the  King  and  he  received  me  very  happily,  he  spoke 
to  me  about  the  smallpo.x  of  my  Paco  (which  he  already  knew  of) 
I  told  him  about  it  and  he  shook  my  hand  and  then  began  to  play 
the  violin.  I  was  rather  perple.xed  about  going  because  there  was 
a  certain  person  of  my  profession  who  said  in  the  same  room 


CONDESA  DE  CHINCHON 


Plate  XXXII 


(p.  113 


V*. 


1 


} 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  109 

that  I  did  not  wish  to  serve  him,  and  other  things  which  vile  men 
do  to  me  without  my  knowing  why.  The  rest  of  the  household  like 
me  and  those  that  were  present,  of  whom  I  don’t  know  who  they 
were,  were  very  indignant  and  made  the  scene  an  ugly  one,  and 
very  confusedly  recounted  to  me  what  I  am  telling  you.  You  may 
think  that  I  am  making  the  worst  of  what  you  know  happens  in 
other  places:  for  there  is  yet  a  good  deal  more  as  regards  the  Chief, 
I  mean  my  Chief  Baldecarzana,  Secretary  and  Majordomo  for 
great  they  all  wish  to  be  and  with  these  more  venom  has  been 
found,  but  they  are  not  within  an  inch  of  Porfido  .  .  .  for  they  will 
sooner  tear  each  other  to  pieces  than  make  him  give  in  a  hair’s 
breadth.” 

The  letters  already  quoted  of  Maria  Luisa  to  Godoy  at  the 
same  time  let  us  know  the  dates  of  some  other  court  portraits.  The 
queen  says  in  one  of  them,  dated  9  June  1800,  from  Aranjuez: 

“Tomorrow  Goya  will  begin  another  portrait  of  me;  all  the 
others  are  finished  and  are  very  successful  .  .  .” 

And  a  few  days  later,  on  14  June,  she  says: 

“Goya  has  painted  my  portrait  which  they  say  is  the  best  of 
all;  he  is  now  painting  that  of  the  King  in  the  Casa  del  Labrador; 
I  think  it  will  come  out  equally  well  ...” 

This  portrait  of  her  will  be  undoubtedly  the  one  preserved 
in  the  royal  palace  of  Madrid,  in  which  she  wears  a  bright  dress 
of  oriental  character  with  yellow  trimming,  and  her  figure  is  seen 
against  a  choice  background  of  pearl  grey.  With  regard  to  that  of 
the  king  we  cannot  say  precisely  which  it  is;  but,  as  the  portraits 
that  he  made  of  Charles  IV  are  pendants  and  similar  to  those  of 
the  queen,  I  do  not  think  we  shall  be  mistaken  in  assigning  to 
them  the  same  date,  with  the  obvious  difference  of  months  or  even 
days  before  or  after.  We  may  recall  the  equestrian  portrait 
preserved  in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  719),  less  interesting  and 


I  lO 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


spirited  in  my  opinion  than  the  companion  picture  of  Maria  Luisa, 
where  the  monarch,  turning  somewhat  to  the  left,  wearing  the  uni¬ 
form  of  a  Colonel  of  the  Body  Guard,  is  mounted  on  a  piebald 
horse,  chestnut  and  white.  As  pendants  of  these  portraits  of  the 
queen,  upright,  in  full  length,  already  mentioned,  must  be  recalled 
those  of  the  king — the  one  preserved  in  the  palace,  which  appeared 
under  No.  i  of  the  Exhibition  of  the  Works  of  Goya  in  1900, 
where  he  is  represented  in  the  dress  of  a  huntsman;  and  another 
where  he  wears  the  uniform  of  the  Colonel  of  the  Body  Guard, 
crimson  breeches  and  stockings  of  white  silk,  with  his  hat  in  his 
left  hand  and  cane  in  his  right.  One  of  these  portraits  is  in  the 
royal  palace  and  the  other  in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  727).  Of 
this  type  of  portrait,  either  identical  or  with  small  variations,  there 
are  replicas  of  more  or  less  importance;  some  of  these  have  found 
a  home  in  different  collections,  for  instance,  that  belonging  to  the 
heirs  of  the  Duque  de  Tamames;  others  are  preserved  in  centres 
or  institutions  of  official  character,  such  as  that  which  exists  in  the 
University  of  Salamanca. 


CONDESA  DE  CHINCHON  (Detail) 


Plate  XXXIII 


(p.  114) 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Full  Power  of  the  Artist  as  Portrait  Painter 

1801-1808 

IN  a  letter  of  Goya  to  Zapater  dated  2  August  1800,  certain 
sentences  of  which  we  have  referred  to  in  connection  with  the 
expansive  relations  of  the  painter  with  the  Duchess  of  Alba, 
there  are  at  the  end  some  lines  in  which  he  says,  while  speaking  of 
another  subject: 

“  I  am  making  a  sketch  of  the  Duque  de  la  Alcudia  on  horse¬ 
back  as  he  sent  to  say  that  he  would  send  for  me  and  would  settle 
my  lodging  in  the  place  for  I  shall  be  here  longer  than  I  thought: 
I  assure  you  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  subjects  that  could 
be  offered  to  a  painter.” 

Don  Manuel  Godoy,  Prince  de  la  Paz  and  de  Basano,  Duke 
of  Alcudia  and  of  Sueca,  Minister  of  Charles  IV  in  this  year  of 
1800,  was  a  man  loved  and  hated  passionately;  and  though  there 
is  no  need  to  enter  into  his  story  here,  he  should  be  mentioned 
as  having  honoured  and  protected  Goya,  who  relates  to  us  in  an  in¬ 
timate  letter  to  Zapater : 

“Martin  mine:  The  day  before  yesterday  I  arrived  at  Aranjuez 
and  that  is  the  reason  I  have  not  answered  you.  The  Minister  has 
gone  beyond  himself  in  showing  kindness  to  me  taking  me  for 
drives  in  his  carriage,  making  me  the  greatest  expressions  of 
friendship  which  can  be  possibly  imagined,  allowing  me  to  dine 
with  my  cloak  on  because  it  was  very  cold,  he  learned  to  talk  with 
the  hands  and  left  off  eating  to  talk  to  me,  he  wanted  me  to  stay 


I  12 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


until  Easter  and  paint  the  portrait  of  Sabedra  (who  is  his  friend) 
and  I  should  have  been  glad  to  do  so  only  I  had  no  canvas  nor  a 
shirt  to  change  into,  so  I  left  him  ill-contented  with  me  and  came 
away;  here  you  have  a  letter  which  just  describes  him,  I  don’t  know 
if  you  will  be  able  to  read  his  hand  which  is  worse  than  mine;  don’t 
shew  it  to  anybody  or  say  anything  about  it  but  return  it  to  me.” 

The  portrait,  the  first  sketch  of  which  Goya  had  made  on 
2  August  1800,  will  have  been  probably  finished  a  little  later,  and 
apparently  is  the  one  preserved  to-day  in  the  Royal  Academy  of  San 
Fernando  (Plate  29),  where  Godoy,  wearing  the  uniform  of  Gaptain- 
General  reclining  on  a  bank  of  ground,  is  examining  a  letter.  An 
aidc-de-camp  in  the  second  plane,  a  Portuguese  flag  on  the  left  of  the 
canvas,  and  horses  and  orderlies  in  the  background,  complete  the 
portrait,  which  I  am  doubtful  whether  to  describe  as  original  or  in¬ 
fluenced  from  without. 

All  this  subject-painting,  rather  than  portrait,  may  be  without 
doubt  connected  with  and  reminiscent  of  the  Portuguese  campaign, 
commonly  called  the  War  of  the  Oranges,  which  the  Prince  de  la 
Paz  directed  as  Generalissimo.  The  aide-de-camp  who  appears 
in  the  second  plane  is  said  to  be  the  Conde  de  Tepa;  and  I,  if  I 
cannot  confirm  this,  can  at  least  say  that  it  is  the  same  person  who 
appears  in  a  bust  portrait  which  belonged  to  a  collection  in  Madrid, 
and  to-day  is  to  be  found  in  North  America,  always  of  the  same 
individual. 

The  head  of  Godoy  is  fine  in  quality;  and  the  colouring 
generally  of  the  picture  is  strong  and  intense.  I  may  observe  here 
with  reference  to  this  colouring,  with  its  leaden  sky,  its  intense 
and  gloomy  tones,  that  it  is  the  first  time  that  Goya  shows  this 
method  in  a  decided  manner.  Later  it  persists  in  him  in  the  first 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  comes  to  fix  itself  definitely  as 
a  step,  as  a  transition  in  his  colouring,  through  which  he  is  to 
arrive  at  the  extraordinary  tones  of  his  last  years.  It  is  a  curious 


MARIANO  GOYA 


Plate  XXXIV 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


113 

thing;  all  this  gloomy  intense  tonality  is  not  general  in  his  pro¬ 
duction;  it  seems  that  he  reserved  it  for  military  portraits  made  in 
the  open  air.  He  begins  this  in  the  portrait  of  Urrutia  (the  sky  of 
this  picture  should  be  noted  as  distinct  from  the  previous  skies  of 
Goya);  he  marks  it  in  a  decided  manner  in  this  presentation  of 
Godoy,  and  exaggerates  it  afterwards  in  other  portraits  which  I 
shall  mention  later  on. 

In  the  same  period,  with  the  difference  of  a  few  months,  Goya 
made  the  portrait  of  the  wife  of  Godoy,  the  Condesa  de  Chinchón. 
In  one  of  the  letters  already  referred  to,  from  Maria  Luisa  to  Godoy, 
she  says,  speaking  of  his  wife,  “.  .  .  we  hope  she  will  go  on  well 
until  all  is  over;  we  are  also  glad  she  is  going  to  be  painted.”  The 
work  here  referred  to  is  that  one — so  little  known  through  having 
been  kept  for  many  years  in  the  Palace  of  Boadilla,  and  but  seldom 
visited — which  I  consider  one  of  the  most  singular  portraits  that 
ever  came  from  the  brush  of  Goya.  It  is  a  work  we  could  call 
vaporous,  and  surprising  in  its  delicacy  and  harmony.  The  Condesa 
de  Chinchón,  a  type  of  attractive  beauty,  has  beautiful  fair  hair,  white 
skin,  and  a  pair  of  eyes,  not  large  but  alive  with  a  sweet  and  kindly 
look  that  is  truly  captivating.  She  is  represented  as  seated,  wearing 
a  white  décolleté  dress,  short  sleeves  with  light  blue  trimming,  her 
figure  appearing  against  a  dark  background  and  with  a  grey  floor 
beneath  her  feet.  Goya,  as  a  realistic  painter,  could  not  be  false  to 
anything  showing  itself  markedly  in  this  figure.  The  queen  said 
in  her  letter:  “.  .  .  we  hope  she  will  go  on  well  until  all  is  over  . . .” 
and,  in  fact,  this  woman,  already  so  interesting,  shows  in  the  posi¬ 
tion  and  lines  of  her  body  that  she  is  in  that  situation  when  the 
interest  of  her  sex  is  increased  by  the  hope  of  approaching  maternity. 
But  Goya  has  expressed  this  in  her  portrait  with  such  exquisite 
taste,  with  such  artistic  reserve  that,  without  failing  in  truth,  this 
would  perhaps  be  overlooked  by  anyone  who  had  no  need  to  be 
informed  of  it.  And  I  seem  to  recognize  in  this  work  the  love  with 
which  it  has  been  made,  the  sympathy  and  affection  which  the 

Q 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


114 

painter  had  for  his  model.  This  can  be  explained,  and  speaks  well 
of  that  natural  nobility  and  affectionate  disposition  which  Goya 
shows  us  in  his  intimate  letters.  This  countess  was  Doña  Maria 
Teresa  de  Borbon  and  Vallabrig’a,  issue  of  the  love  marriage  of  the 
Infante  D.  Luis  and  a  lady  of  Aragon,  Doña  Maria  Teresa  de 
Vallabriga.  She  was  at  the  same  time  the  little  girl  whom  Goya 
had  painted  some  years  before  in  Arenas  de  San  Pedro,  and  some 
expressions  of  the  artist  have  shown  with  what  sympathy  he 
regarded  her.  Protected  by  the  Infante,  in  those  first  moments  of 
his  career,  the  painter  did  not  forget  either  the  gratitude  due  to  the 
father  or  his  affection  for  the  daughter;  and  when,  years  later,  as 
b'irst  Painter  of  the  Court,  he  made  the  portrait  of  this  little  girl, 
now  become  a  woman,  almost  a  mother — to  whom  once  had  been 
denied  the  title  and  rank  of  Infanta,  but  whom  they  made  use  of 
later  in  order  that,  having  married  her  to  Godoy,  the  latter  could 
acquire  rank  and  a  royal  connection — our  artist  knew  how  to 
express  the  sympathy  due  to  an  interesting  and  beautiful  woman, 
who  had  been  driven  by  royal  intrigues  into  a  difficult  position, 
in  a  court  which  even  in  its  corruption  was  ridiculous. 

The  technique  of  this  work  is  on  a  level  with  its  importance. 
Undoubtedly  the  best  feature  is  the  head  (Plate  31)  drawn  and 
indicated  with  light  touches;  everything  is  suggested  rather  than 
said,  the  hair  has  been  boldly  rubbed  in  with  a  light  hand  and 
flowing  colour.  It  is  a  supremely  clever  piece  of  painting  and  a 
marvellous  lesson  for  painters.  Its  covering  of  colour  is  very  slight 
in  the  light  parts  and  in  the  points  of  light;  not  so,  however,  over 
the  flesh,  but  in  the  trimmings  and  ribbons  of  the  dress.  What  really 
belongs  to  the  person  of  the  sitter — the  features,  the  complexion, 
the  hair — has  no  trace  of  brush  work.  It  has  been  painted  with  the 
mind;  all  here  is  spirit,  and  the  material  and  plastic  part  disappears 
as  far  as  possible,  giving  the  sensation  of  a  line  of  verse — a 
suggested  caress. 

The  Condesa  would  in  this  period,  in  1800,  have  been  twenty- 


MARIANO  GOYA 


Plate  XXXV 


(p.  ii6) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


115 

three  years  of  age;  since  at  six  years  old,  in  1783,  Goya  painted  her 
portrait  for  the  first  time.  Between  these  two  portraits  another 
may  be  conveniently  mentioned,  in  which,  as  yet  unmarried.  Doña 
Maria  Teresa  suggests  some  seventeen  years.  She  is  represented 
full  length  and  standing;  the  general  tone  is  rose  grey,  seen  against 
a  very  dark,  almost  black,  background.  The  work  is  delicate,  but 
very  light  and  hasty  in  execution.  This  portrait,  as  well  as  the 
study  of  head  and  shoulders,  with  the  arms  and  hands,  which  the 
artist  made  for  it,  are  not  of  the  first  importance.  They  were 
preserved  with  the  other  pictures  here  mentioned  in  the  Palace  of 
Boadilla  del  Monte. 

The  brother  of  the  Condesa  de  Chinchón,  D.  Luis  Maria  de 
Borbon  and  Vallabriga,  who,  like  his  sister,  had  been  painted  by 
Goya  at  Arenas  de  San  Pedro  when  they  were  quite  young,  had 
his  portrait  again  painted  in  these  later  years  in  the  work  to-day 
preserved  in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  788),  standing  with  a  book 
in  his  right  hand,  his  left  hand  falling  naturally,  and  dressed  as  a 
cardinal,  a  high  post  in  the  Church  which  this  individual  obtained 
when  still  young.  I  know  of  various  replicas  with  variations,  not 
however  copies,  of  this  portrait  in  the  museum;  and  I  consider 
those  of  most  interest  as  being  the  one  preserved  in  Boadilla,  in 
the  gallery  I  have  so  often  mentioned  as  belonging  to  the  Prince  of 
Ruspoli,  the  head  very  light  and  finely  executed;  another  in  the 
collection  of  the  Marqués  de  Casa  Torres,  in  Madrid.  In  the 
catalogue  of  the  museum  this  cardinal  appears  with  the  name  of 
D.  Antonio  de  Borbon;  I  consider  this  a  mistake,  since  the  person 
is  no  other  than  that  D.  Luis  Maria,  known  in  his  time  as  Cardinal 
Bourbon,  who  made  a  great  figure  later  in  Spanish  politics. 

Goya,  a  painter  of  exquisite  delicacy  and  simplicity,  knew  how 
to  give  to  the  portraits  of  children  which  came  from  his  brush  that 
particular  interest,  that  tenderness  which  infancy  brings  with  it. 

Approximately  speaking,  to  the  years  which  are  occupying  us 
in  this  chapter  can  be  attributed  three  portraits  of  children,  all  of 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


1 16 

great  charm.  One  of  them,  seeming  earlier  by  its  style,  is  a  head 
and  shoulders  representing  Manuel  Cantin  y  Lucientes,  the  nephew 
of  Goya;  it  is  fine  in  colour,  the  dominating  note  being  the  nut- 
brown  of  the  coat  and  the  rose  of  the  waistcoat.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  this  work  was  painted  on  an  old  board  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
on  which,  without  doubt,  there  had  been  an  image  of  a  saint,  since 
in  course  of  time  a  halo  which  had  surrounded  the  head  of  the 
saint  has  come  through,  and  thus  little  Manuel  Cantin  appeared  later 
with  a  halo.  The  painting  comes  from  Zaragoza,  where  Goya  had 
probably  painted  his  little  nephew  u])on  one  of  his  journeys  to  that 
city.  Not  having  on  that  occasion  a  canvas  handy  to  his  command, 
he  had  made  use  of  a  panel  of  what  we  call  to-day  a  primitive. 
This  portrait  passed  some  years  ago  into  the  Ilavemeyer  collection 
in  New  York. 

The  other  two  portraits  of  children  to  which  we  refer  are  both 
of  the  same  person,  the  grandson  of  Goya,  called  Mariano.  The 
first  belongs  to  D.  Enrique  Crooke,  who  keeps  it  at  his  palace  in 
Madrid  (Plate  32).  This  work  is  painted  with  very  few  colours. 
The  white  and  black  alone  dominate,  and  it  is  as  if  it  were  a  step 
from  the  grey  tones  of  preceding  years  to  the  nearly  white  and 
nearly  black.  The  little  sitter,  standing  upright  in  front  view  and 
very  serious,  is  dressed  in  a  kind  of  black  dress-coat  with  a  white 
waistcoat,  the  whole  suit  badly  cut  and  showing  the  shape  of  his 
little  stomach,  giving  to  this  child,  who  cannot  be  more  than  three 
years  old,  a  very  quaint  appearance.  His  right  hand  is  hidden,  and 
with  the  left,  almost  covered  by  his  large  sleeve,  he  holds  a  cord 
which  draws  a  little  toy  carriage. 

In  the  second  of  the  portraits  made  by  Goya  of  his  little  grand¬ 
son  the  latter  was  two  or  three  years  older  (Plate  33).  This  is  a 
head  and  shoulders  almost  in  profile;  his  head  is  covered  with  a 
little  high-crowned  hat,  and  with  a  paper  rolled  up  like  a  conductor  s 
baton  in  his  right  hand  he  is  occupied  in  beating  time  to  some 
sheets  of  music  which  he  has  before  him.  This  little  boy,  as  time 


CONDE  DE  FERNÁN  NÚÑEZ 


Plate  XXXVI 


(p.  117 


V  1  l'/l»  I 

ík  : 


,1 

A 


•K 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


117 

went  on,  was  to  be  that  old  man  whom  D.  Luis  de  Madrazo 
brought  to  Madrid  in  1868,  and  who  related  so  many  curious  things 
about  his  grandfather;  and  amongst  them  revealed  to  us  who 
had  been  the  person  who  served  as  model  in  the  famous  picture, 
“  La  Maja  Desnuda.” 

The  years  which  come  between  1800,  the  date  of  the  portrait 
of  the  Condesa  de  Chinchón,  and  the  memorable  year  1808,  are 
marked  by  a  succession  of  portraits  of  ever-increasing  interest. 

To  the  year  1803 — not  to  1808,  as  has  been  sometimes  stated 
— should  be  dated  the  portraits  of  the  Conde  and  Condesa  de 
Fernán  Nuñez,  preserved  in  the  illustrious  family  of  their  descend¬ 
ants,  at  present  dukes  under  the  same  title.  This  one  of  the  latter 
is  a  portrait  attractive  in  colour,  but  whose  ensemble  is  spoilt  by 
the  way  the  legs  are  placed.  Dressed  as  a  maja,  the  Condesa  is 
seated  on  a  sloping  bank,  in  rather  a  forced  pose,  and  looking  out 
with  an  expression  of  lively  intelligence.  The  colour,  though  dark 
in  tone,  is  the  best  thing  in  the  picture;  the  yellow  sleeves  are  the 
striking  note  of  the  composition,  and  the  branches  and  leaves  of 
a  shrub  filling  the  first  plane  on  her  left  are  simplified  and  show  a 
complete  command  of  technique.  Notwithstanding  the  importance 
of  this  portrait,  the  superiority  of  its  companion  is  such  as  to  admit 
of  no  comparison. 

The  Conde  de  Fernán  Nuñez  advances  serenely  in  his  portrait 
painted  by  Goya  (Plate  34),  wrapped  in  the  ample  folds  of  his  dark 
green  cloak  and  looking  to  his  right.  This  portrait  is  one  of  those 
satisfying  and  complete  works  which  captivate  the  spectator  from 
the  first  instant,  and  in  which  there  is  nothing  hidden  or  needing 
explanation,  since  its  simplicity  is  supreme  and  on  a  level  with  its 
art  and  its  beauty.  With  all  its  certainty  of  drawing,  the  colour 
here  is  even  better.  The  dominant  note  in  this  is  given  by  the 
dark  greens;  the  landscape  which  serves  as  background  is  composed 
of  a  series  of  intense  greens,  losing  themselves  in  the  dark  ground 
of  the  lower  part,  while  in  the  distance  the  most  luminous  point  in 


ii8 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


the  background  melts  into  the  horizon  and  is  lost  in  the  sky  above. 
Against  this  effect,  so  finely  attained,  appears  the  figure  of  the 
count.  It  is  signed  on  the  ground,  in  the  lower  part  on  the  right: 
“Goya  F".  1803.” 

This  work,  the  happy  creation  of  a  great  portrait  painter  in 
the  great  period  of  his  life,  is  an  excellent  example  for  studying  the 
qualities  of  the  artist  who  created  it.  We  have  pointed  out,  in 
the  chronological  method  of  this  book,  the  influences  which  Goya 
received,  and  how  he  formed  himself  as  an  artist.  What  is  there 
left  here  of  the  style  learnt  from  Mengs  and  the  portrait  painters 
of  that  time?  In  my  opinion  nothing,  absolutely  nothing;  we 
may  compare  this  portrait  with  any  one  whatever  by  the  famous 
Bohemian,  and  I  believe  we  shall  find  no  two  works  could  be 
more  different.  And  then  it  occurs  to  us  to  ask,  how  is  it 
¡)ossible  that  Goya  should  have  forgotten  absolutely  his  earlier 
training,  all  that  he  had  learnt  in  his  youthful  years,  and  of  which 
it  seems  that  there  is  always  some  trace  in  every  artist,  however 
much  he  may  develop?  And  the  answer  is  that  Goya  did  not  form 
himself  on  Mengs;  he  compromised  with  him — which  is  a  very 
different  thing.  Goya  only  formed  himself,  as  far  as  I  can  trace, 
upon  the  works  of  the  old  Spanish  school  and  especially  upon  those 
of  Velazquez,  in  his  style,  his  technique — the  ultimate  expression 
which  he  needed  to  give  form  to  the  art  which  even  he  did  not 
entirely  create,  but  which  was  fermenting  in  his  brain. 

In  fact,  apart  from  the  distance  of  time,  and  without  saying 
that  (ioya  is  an  imitator  of  Velazquez,  I  believe  that  it  can  be 
affirmed  before  this  portrait  that  it  is  the  continuation  of  Spanish 
painting,  and  that  the  canvas  would  have  been  different  had  not 
Wlazquez  painted  those  pictures  of  his  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
earlier.  Whence,  save  from  Velazquez,  comes  this  background, 
this  surrounding  atmosphere,  this  relation  of  the  values  of  the 
figure  with  the  background  and  the  sky,  and,  above  all,  and  more 
than  all,  the  due  proportion  to  all  this  of  the  figure  itself?  Whence 


MARQUES  DE  SAN  ADRIÁN 


Plate  XXXVII 


(P.  121) 


'  I 


•V 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


1 19 

comes  this  typical  drawing,  this  profile,  these  lines,  this  silhouette, 
which  are  so  unmistakable,  which  no  one  save  Velazquez  had 
created,  though  so  many  had  vainly  imitated  him,  and  which  alone 
in  this  portrait  gives  us  the  sensation  of  supreme  simplicity  and 
mastery;  so  that  we  almost  think  that  the  great  D.  Diego  must 
have  risen  from  the  tomb  to  depict  this  gentleman  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century? 

Let  us  admit,  then,  this  work  as  a  continuation  of  the  great 
Spanish  school,  with  its  marvellous  and  purely  national  qualities 
represented  by  Goya,  and  by  Goya  alone,  in  that  epoch;  and, 
admitting  this,  let  us  recognize  immediately  the  influence,  I  might 
say  better,  the  resemblance,  which  this  work  has  with  the  great  pro¬ 
ductions  in  the  world  precisely  in  the  years  when  it  was  created. 
I  think  that  this  will  not  be  difficult  for  anyone  who  has  seen  some 
of  the  English  portraits,  and  especially  those  of  Gainsborough. 

The  contemporary,  the  person  belonging  to  the  same  period, 
has  necessarily  a  similarity  with  those  of  his  time;  and  this  is 
based  not  alone  on  dress,  manner,  fashion,  things  totally  external, 
but  on  something  spiritual  and  indefinable  which  regulates  and 
determines  all  this,  exists  on  all  sides,  is  in  the  very  atmosphere, 
and  enters  as  necessarily  into  the  intelligence  of  man  as  the  air  into 
his  lungs.  This  determining  factor,  this  time  spirit,  strengthened 
and  repeated  again  by  external  qualities,  like  the  similarity  of  dress 
and — to  take  another  instance — the  fashion  of  painting  the  sitters 
with  their  heads  covered  and  in  the  open  air,  is  what  makes  these 
works  of  Goya  resemble  those  of  English  artists;  but  if  we  come  to 
see  them  together,  if  we  should  find  this  Conde  de  Fernán  Nuñez 
among  portraits  by  Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  or  Lawrence,  imme¬ 
diately  we  should  distinguish  it  as  Spanish — and  this  indeed  by 
its  leaven  of  Velazquez — from  those  others  who  have  their  ancestry 
in  the  art  of  Van  Dyck,  who  passed  a  long  time  in  England,  and  left 
there  the  seed  which  the  English  knew  how  to  bring  to  fruit  later 
in  such  brilliant  fashion. 


120 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Goya  knew  engravings  of  the  English  portraits,  and  perhaps 
some  actual  portrait  of  his  own  was  due  to  these  painters,  and 
resembled  them  in  its  whole  expression;  but  from  that  to  consider 
him  an  imitator  of  the  English  is  a  very  different  matter. 

Thus,  having  established  that  this  portrait,  like  so  many  other 
works  of  Goya,  is  a  continuation  of  the  purely  national  Spanish 
creation  and  yet  obeys  the  spirit  of  the  time,  I  think  now  there 
only  remains  to  us  to  indicate  the  third  of  these  constituent  elements 
— and  that  is  the  part  that  is  his  own,  the  original  part  of  his  art, 
the  Goyesque. 

For  these  portraits  by  Goya  are  always  unmistakably  his  own. 
A  constant  study  of  nature — never  satisfied  with  what  had  been 
acquired  and  desiring  always  to  go  forward,  going  ever  deeper  into 
the  aspects  presented  by  nature  in  order  to  reproduce  them  later 
as  a  whole  in  their  synthesis,  and  united  to  his  inherent  and  excep¬ 
tional  ability  as  a  colourist — gave  as  its  fruit  in  this  aspect  of 
Goya’s  production,  marvellous  portraits,  among  which  the  one 
holding  the  first  place  is  that  of  the  Conde  de  Fernan  Núñez. 
These  works  represent  an  enormous  effort;  they  are  the  result  of 
daily  work  for  years  and  years,  of  the  whole  life  of  a  man;  and  yet 
in  their  appearance  they  are  simple  and  go  down  to  posterity  as  if 
created  by  magic,  and  we  admire  them  with  delight  and  affection 
as  the  spontaneous  product  of  the  genius  of  a  race. 

Belonging  to  the  year  1804,  two  companion  portraits  are  known 
to  us,  that  of  I).  Ignacio  Garcini  and  of  his  wife.  Doña  Josefa 
Castilla-Portugal  de  Garcini.  These  are  three-quarter  length  por¬ 
traits;  that  of  the  husband  is  standing  upright,  dressed  as  a 
Brigadier  of  fingineers,  with  an  inscription  in  the  lower  left  corner 
saying;  “  Don  Ignacio  Garcini.  Bor  Goya  1804.”  In  that  of  his 
wife  she  appears  seated,  wearing  a  light  dress,  displaying  her 
beautiful  long  hair  unbound.  It  is  a  work — and  this  is  an  interest¬ 
ing  fact  to  be  noted — in  a  certain  manner  inspired  by  Flemish  art, 
where  the  qualities  of  fleshiness  and  softness  predominate.  In  the 


MARQUESA  DE  SANTA  CRUZ 


Plate  XXXVIII 


,-1 


I  * 


■  i  '  i  .Á  i 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


I2I 


lower  córner  on  the  right  we  read:  “  Da.  Josefa  Castilla  de  Garcini. 
pr.  Goya  1804.”  Both  these  portraits  are  preserved  in  the  collection 
of  Colonel  Payne  of  New  York. 

Of  the  same  date  is  the  beautiful  full-length  portrait,  standing 
upright,  with  a  landscape  background,  where  the  Marqués  de  San 
Adrián  (Plate  35),  dressed  as  a  horseman,  with  a  white  waistcoat 
and  breeches  of  a  showy  orange  colour,  rests  against  a  stone  pillar. 
Signed  and  dated  in  1804.  This  work  belongs  to  the  existing 
Marqués  de  San  Adrián. 

Dated  a  year  later  is  an  important  work  by  Goya,  the  portrait 
of  the  Marquesa  de  Santa  Cruz  (Plate  36),  belonging  to  the  heirs  of 
the  Conde  de  Pie  de  Concha,  in  Madrid.  This  painting  is  an  import¬ 
ant  work,  although  little  known.  The  Marquesita  here  appears 
about  eighteen  years  of  age.  She  is  seen  resting  on  a  rose-coloured 
couch  with  large  cushions  and  dressed  in  white;  her  head,  admirable 
in  its  modelling  and  a  very  delicate  type  of  feminine  beauty,  is 
adorned  with  leaves  and  some  pale  yellow  flowers.  The  background 
is  filled  with  a  very  dark  crimson  curtain.  The  sitter  is  holding 
with  her  left  hand  a  musical  instrument,  a  lyre,  the  original  of  which 
is  to-day  preserved  by  the  side  of  the  portrait,  and  which  certainly  is 
not  identical  with  the  one  painted.  The  ensemble  of  this  work,  as 
far  as  its  colour  is  concerned,  is  a  most  happy  harmony  of  whites 
and  crimsons.  On  the  lower  part  of  the  canvas  may  be  read: 
“  Doña  .  .  .  Girón  Marquesa  de  Santa  Cruz  por  Goya  1805.” 

This  work  recalls  to  me  somewhat — -and  this  not  so  much  by 
the  position  of  the  model  as  by  the  harmony  of  colours — the 
“Venus  at  the  Mirror ”  by  Velazquez,  which  Goya  might  in  his 
time  have  seen  in  the  collection  of  the  Duque  de  Alba,  or  in  that 
of  the  Prince  de  la  Paz. 

With  the  portrait  just  mentioned,  both  by  its  origin  and  the 
family  ties  between  the  sitters,  may  be  connected  the  beautiful 
portrait  of  Doña  Manuela  de  Silva  y  Walstein,  Condesa  de  Haro 
(Plate  37).  A  very  refined  work,  recalling  in  some  points  the  art  of 

R 


I  22 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


France  and  especially  that  of  Prudhon,  is  this  portrait  of  the 
enchanting  little  countess,  with  bare  neck  and  shoulders,  the 
latter  draped  with  a  scarf  of  white  and  gold.  It  belongs  to  the 
Duquesa  de  San  Carlos,  Madrid. 

Very  realistic  in  their  character  are  the  portraits  of  a  mother  and 
daughter,  two  sitters  who  lack  the  distinction  of  those  previously 
mentioned,  all  the  more  that  they  have  both  followed  the  fashion 
of  adorning  their  heads  with  ñowers,  a  fashion  which,  it  would 
seem,  became  the  rage,  and  passed  from  the  ladies  of  the  aristocracy 
to  the  middle  class.  These  portraits,  dated  in  1805,  are,  according 
to  the  inscription  appearing  on  them,  of  Doña  Leonor  Valdés  de 
Parruso  and  of  Doña  Maria  Xh'centa  Rarruso  Wldés.  Evidently 
pendants  from  their  size  and  pro})ortions,  they  are  painted  three- 
quarter  length  and  in  1)oth  cases  seated.  Doña  Leonor,  the  mother, 
her  profile  turned  towards  the  left  against  a  leaden  grey  l)ackground, 
and  upon  a  crimson  chair,  wears  an  under-dress  of  rose  showing 
through  silk  net,  and  looks  at  the  spectator  with  anything  but  a 
friendly  expression.  The  daughter.  Doña  Maria  Vicenta,  is  also 
seen  against  a  grey  background,  and  is  seated  in  a  crimson  arm¬ 
chair.  Her  profile  is  turned  to  the  right,  and  she  is  wearing  a 
yellow  dress  which  shows  through  flowered  net;  she  holds  on  her 
knee  a  little  white  dog,  and  looks  at  the  spectator  with  an  expression 
of  kindness  and  sympathetic  innocence.  Both  portraits  are  dated. 
I  do  not  know  their  present  possessor. 

About  the  same  period,  perhaps  a  little  later,  although  I  cannot 
state  precisely  the  date,  there  are  two  portraits  of  the  same  lady. 
Doña  Antonia  Zárate,  the  mother,  as  I  believe,  of  the  famous  poet, 
D.  Antonia  Gil  y  Zárate.  In  one  of  these  she  is  represented 
in  three-quarter  length,  seated  on  a  sofa  of  dull  yellow  damask. 
The  sitter,  who  is  seen  almost  full  face,  is  dressed  in  black,  with  a 
mantilla  of  the  same  colour  and  white  gloves.  In  the  whole  work 
there  is  predominant  a  reddish  tone,  giving  it  a  certain  opaqueness; 
I  wonder  if  perhaps  this  may  not  have  been  caused  by  the  decom- 


CONDESA  DE  HARO 


Plate  XXXIX 


(P.  I2l) 


1 

í 


(ll 

>; 


4 

i 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


123 


position  of  the  preparatory  tint  of  the  canvas.  The  second  of  these 
portraits  (Plate  38)  is  only  of  head  and  shoulders.  The  sitter,  very 
pale  and  of  delicate  appearance,  gives  to  her  likeness  here  a  special 
interest  which  is  lacking  in  the  first-named.  The  tones  of  this  work 
are  light,  clear  grey  tints  dominating  in  the  hood  with  which  she 
covers  her  head,  adorned  with  blue  stripes  and  a  little  half  moon. 
She  carries  a  transparent  scarf  covering  her  neck,  and  a  red  wrap 
hanging  from  her  shoulders  with  a  white  fur  collar. 

Similar  to  this  last  as  a  type  of  portrait  is  another  even  more 
interesting  portrait,  in  half  length,  of  an  anonymous  lady  who 
covers  her  head  with  a  veil  of  tulle  and  her  shoulders  with  a  golden 
yellow  scarf.  There  is  life  itself  in  the  expression  of  this  head,  this 
mouth,  and  above  all  in  the  vivid  and  deep  glance  of  her  eyes  which 
look  out  fixedly.  This  work  was  in  Madrid  not  long  ago;  I  believe 
that  it  was  then  unknown.  To-day  it  belongs  to  Dr.  James  Simon, 
in  Berlin.  It  is  a  unique  work,  and  one  which  leaves  an  ever¬ 
lasting  memory. 

With  these  portraits  I  think  that  others  of  the  same  time  might 
be  mentioned,  like  those  two  companion  pictures  which,  though 
not  included  in  the  catalogue,  appeared  at  the  Goya  Exhibition  as 
the  property  of  Sr.  Modet,  and  afterwards  changed  hands,  that  of 
the  lady.  Da.  Narcisa  Barañana  de  Goicoechea,  going  to  the  Have- 
meyer  collection  in  New  York,  and  that  of  her  husband,  D.  Juan 
Bautista  de  Goicoechea,  into  the  possession  of  M.  Durand  Ruel 
(Paris).  And  of  this  period,  more  precisely  in  the  year  1805,  would 
be  the  portrait  of  D.  José  de  Vargas  y  Ponce,  of  the  Academy  of 
History.  This  director  of  the  above-mentioned  Academy  wrote  to 
his  friend  Cean  Bermudez  on  8  January  1805,  a  letter  in  which  he 
enumerates  in  a  graceful  way  the  cares  of  a  director  of  the 
Academy,  and  where  he  says  in  one  sentence: 

“In  this  character  of  Director,  velis  nolis,  I  ought  to  have  my 
portrait  painted  one  of  these  days.  I  want  Goya  to  do  it,  to  whom 


124 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


it  has  been  proposed  and  who  has  come  forward  in  the  matter  very 
graciously.  But  I  also  ask  and  beg  of  you  to  give  him  a  note  saying 
who  I  am  and  our  mutual  relations,  so  that  if  this  earthen  jar  has 
to  be  filled  in  the  Academy  it  should  not  be  with  an  ugly  mask  but 
as  he  can  when  he  likes.”  ^ 

The  portrait,  as  may  be  seen  to-day,  is  not  precisely  an  ugly 
mask;  but  is  not  more  than  a  work  of  secondary  interest,  an  official 
portrait  and  nothing  more. 

Special  mention  is  claimed  by  two  portraits  of  those  years. 
That  of  Mocarte  (Plate  39),  in  half  length,  is  a  work  of  intimate 
character  full  of  force  and  marrow.  This  person  was  an  organist 
of  the  Chapel  Royal;  but  he  appears  more  like  a  torero  to  judge 
from  his  apparel.  Perhaps  he  was  an  amateur  who  discussed  with 
Goya  the  bull-fights  of  that  time;  and  in  fact  the  portrait  seems  to 
be  speaking  confidentially  to  the  painter,  to  judge  by  his  expression, 
which  is  marvellously  true  to  life.  It  is  preserved  in  “The  Hispanic 
Society  of  America”  of  New  York.  Fortuny  considered  this  work 
as  a  piece  of  extraordinary  painting,  and  as  such  made  of  it  a 
beautiful  copy  in  which  he  succeeded  in  preserving  all  the  spon¬ 
taneity  shown  by  the  original;  a  co|jy  which  that  eminent  lover  of 
Spain,  Mr.  Huntington,  who  directs  and  presides  over  the  above- 
mentioned  society  with  such  knowledge  and  sjdendid  success,  has 
obtained  and  placed  beside  the  work  of  Goya. 

The  second  of  the  two  portraits  to  which  I  referred  is  a  small 
one  of  Asensi,  which  I  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  seeing.  It  left 
Spain  many  years  ago,  and  I  do  not  know  its  present  possessor. 
This  is  a  charming  figure,  very  alive,  full  of  expression,  and,  to 
judge  by  the  photogra})h,  must  be  a  fine  work  of  art.  It  is  dedicated  : 

‘  Bulletin  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History,  vol.  xlvii  (Juiy-September  1905). 
“Correspondence  by  letter  between  Don  José  de  Vargas  y  Ponce  and  Don  Agustín 
Céan  Bermudez,  during  the  years  1803  to  1805,  existing  in  the  Archives  of  the 
Directors’  Office  of  Hydrography  and  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History.” 

Published  by  the  Marqués  de  Seoane. 


ANTONIA  ZARATE 


Plate  XL 


(p.  123) 


o 


I 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


125 


“  Goya  a  su  amigo  Asensi.”  This  was  the  painter  who  assisted  his 
friend  on  more  than  one  occasion.  I  do  not  know  whether  this 
Asensi  is  the  painter  known  as  Juliá,  as  has  been  sometimes  said. 
It  seems  more  likely  that  one  was  this  Asensi,  and  another  Ascensio 
Juliá.  This  work  comes  from  the  Gallery  of  San  Telmo  in  Seville. 

I  know  of  a  work  dated  in  1806,  a  superb  painting  of  a  gentle¬ 
man  rider,  a  deputy  of  the  city  of  Lima,  on  which  is  read  the 
inscription:  “  Don  Tadeo  Bravo  Rivero  por  su  amigo  Goya  1806,” 
on  the  ground  on  the  lower  part  on  the  left  (Plate  40).  This  person, 
dressed  in  uniform  with  his  hat  in  his  left  hand  and  pointing  with 
the  right  to  some  object  which  I  do  not  know,  is  seen  against  a 
dark  landscape  and  a  leaden  grey  sky  threatening  a  terrible  storm 
near  at  hand;  I  have  already  pointed  out  in  preceding  portraits 
where  the  sitters  wear  uniform  (beginning  with  that  of  Urrutia,  very 
marked  in  that  of  Godoy  and  others)  the  intensity  of  the  colour  of 
the  sky.  Can  it  be  that  perhaps  this  scheme  of  colour  attracted 
Goya  as  contrasting  with  the  red  of  the  uniforms?  What  is  certain 
is  that  this  leaden  colouring  is  only  used  by  him  in  the  portraits  of 
soldiers.  In  this  one  the  intensity  of  this  tone  reaches  its  highest 
point,  and  it  must  be  owned  that  the  very  intense  red  of  the  coat 
against  this  colour  gives  a  very  fine  effect.  The  composition  is 
completed  by  a  somewhat  hideous  dog,  which  is  looking  at  D.  Tadeo. 
This  portrait  must  have  left  Spain  many  years  ago.  I  saw  it  for 
the  first  time  in  Berlin,  and  later  in  the  Spiridon  Gallery  in  Paris. 

“  Da.  Francisca  Vicenta  Chollet  y  Cavellero.  Por  Goya  ano 
1806.”  Thus  says  a  portrait  belonging  to  the  Groult  collection 
(Paris),  where  this  lady  appears,  dressed  in  white  and  accompanied 
by  a  little  dog.  Very  fine  here  is  the  composition,  no  less  admirable 
the  head,  and  the  whole  work  is  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation. 
It  seems,  indeed,  as  if  it  has  been  just  painted;  this  painting,  very 
little  known,  is  a  curious  example  of  Goya’s  work  of  that  date. 

In  1807  was  painted  the  portrait  of  the  Marqués  de  Caballero, 
now  for  some  years  in  the  possession  of  the  Museum  of  Budapesth. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


1 26 


It  is  a  work  of  vulgar  appearance,  but  possesses  qualities  of 
ingenuous  charm  and  beauty.  At  first  sight  we  are  not  pleased  with 
the  many  embroideries,  ribbons,  and  crosses  of  this  person,  who 
appears  before  us  seated  in  three-quarter  length,  with  a  sheet  of 
paper  in  his  left  hand  on  which  may  be  read:  “Excmo.  Señor 
Marques  de  Caballero,  Ministero  de  Gracia  y  Justicia.  Por  Goya, 
1807.”  Apart  from  the  official  character  of  this  work,  it  wins  the 
mind  of  the  spectator  by  its  splendid  technique,  and  should  be 
considered  as  a  beautiful  example  of  the  portraits  of  those  years.  The 
head  is  painted  in  a  free  and  open  manner,  and  if  we  did  not  divine 
a  great  master’s  hand  through  this  apparent  simplicity  we  might 
say  that  it  was  the  work  of  a  child.  It  has  no  clever  brush  work  or 
parade  of  execution;  it  is  only  love  for  truth  interpreted  in  the  very 
simplest  manner.  The  modelling  of  the  nose,  the  mouth,  and  chin 
are  grand,  when  we  consider  all  this  is  in  full  light.  The  expression 
of  life  reflected  in  the  sitter’s  look  is  most  noticeable.  The  rest  has 
been  painted  with  Goya’s  habitual  freedom,  at  first  hand  for  the 
most  part,  without  any  previous  study;  yet  keeping  all  the  drawing 
in  its  true  place,  without  sleight  of  hand  or  attempts  at  effect.  The 
colour  is  truth  itself,  and  has  nothing  conventional  in  it.  The  scarlet 
cloth  of  the  waistcoat  and  of  the  breeches  is  clean  and  bold;  the 
black  of  the  coat  is  deep  in  tone,  and  the  blue  of  the  sash  and 
order  painted  in  its  full  brilliancy  form  a  whole  as  rich  and 
even  as  showy  as  would  have  been  its  actual  appearance  in  nature; 
yet,  admitting  this,  we  are  impressed  by  the  sincerity  this  work 
displays.  Of  this  portrait  I  know  two  replicas  of  very  different 
merit. 

To  the  same  date,  1807,  belongs  the  portrait  of  the  Marquesa 
de  Caballero,  a  three-quarter  length,  seated,  in  front  view;  a  not 
very  impressive  work  and  retouched  and  repainted  in  the  head. 
The  whole  effect  is  successful,  and  the  greys  of  the  dress  are  a  fine 
note  and  the  best  thing  in  the  work.  A  good  replica  exists  of  this 
portrait. 


MOCARTE 


Plate  XLI 


(p.  124) 


i’ 
•  I 

’’í 

■i 

Al 

i 


w 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


127 


Of  the  same  date  is  another  portrait  of  very  different  character, 
that  of  Máiquez,  in  the  possession  of  the  Prado  Museum  (No.  734 
of  the  catalogue),  a  bust  portrait  of  very  great  life  and  expression. 
This  work  is  more  restless,  and  in  it  seem  already  foreshadowed 
those  characteristics  which  were  going  to  make  the  productions  of 
the  artist  so  singular  in  later  years.  It  corresponds  with  the  period 
of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  the  famous  actor,  who,  for  having  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  year  following  on  the  day  of  the  2nd  of  May, 
was  carried  off  to  France,  for  a  short  time  only,  as  guilty  of  treason. 
This  work  is  signed  and  dated  “Goya,  1807.”  The  Marques  de 
Casa  Torres  has  in  his  collection  at  Madrid  a  replica  of  this  work 
with  certain  variations. 

Of  the  year  following  I  know  one  portrait,  that  of  the  soldier 
in  uniform,  D.  Pantaleon  Pérez  de  Nenin,  belonging  to  D.  Pedro 
Labat  y  Arrizabalaga,  at  Madrid.  It  is  of  the  same  type  as  the  other 
persons  dressed  in  uniform  of  those  years  by  Goya,  and  I  find  in  it 
the  same  characteristic  notes  and  peculiar  dark  tones.  In  the  lower 
part  of  the  sabre  which  D.  Pantaleon  is  holding  with  his  left  hand 
we  may  read:  “Don  Pantaleon  Perez  de  Nenin.  Por  Goya,  1808.” 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  decisive  date  of  1808.  It  has 
been  made  clear  that  before  this  time  Goya  had  been  going  through 
a  profound  transformation  in  his  inner  life.  Jove  Llanos  and  all 
the  brilliant  constellation  of  men  of  intellect  of  that  epoch  were 
friends  of  Goya,  and  influenced  in  a  very  beneficial  and  stimulating 
manner  his  whole  spiritual  development.  It  would  be  important 
for  us  to  know  the  intimate  letters  of  these  years,  in  which 
undoubtedly  the  mental  attitude  of  Goya  went  through  a  very 
profound  change.  However,  these  letters  do  not  exist;  I  do 
not  know  whether  because  they  were  not  written,  or  because 
the  nephew  of  Zapater  did  not  wish  to  give  them  publicity. 
This  writer  tells  us  that  his  collection  concluded  with  the  corre¬ 
spondence  of  1801.  He  says,  however,  later  in  his  little  book, 
speaking  of  Goya: 


128 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


“  A  genius  more  or  less  venturesome,  an  intelligence  and  a 
heart  more  or  less  addicted  to  novelty,  always  united  to  his  family 
and  to  society,  at  whose  defects  he  laughs  and  even  turns  them 
into  satire.” 

And  in  another  very  significant  sentence  we  read: 

“In  this  period  [referring  to  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century]  Goya  already  flattered  by  fortune,  breathed  an  atmosphere 
so  impure  that  it  intoxicated  him,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was 
excited  by  the  new  ideas  which  overran  Europe  in  the  wake  of 
conquering  armies  among  nations  foreign  to  Spain.” 

This  is  undoubtedly  true.  These  years  are  those  of  the  evolution 
of  the  artist,  and  those  in  which  he  creates  his  art  of  transcendental 
qualities,  his  art  of  thought.  It  is  not  precisely  in  the  way  of 
portrait  painting  that  this  change  can  be  best  appreciated;  yet  in 
this  also  he  is  evolving  himself,  and  I  shall  have  some  remarks  to 
make  on  this  in  the  following  chapters. 

Before  doing  so,  basing  our  inquiries  on  certain  dates,  and 
advancing  otherwise  upon  the  ground  of  reasonable  supposition, 
we  may  note  that  the  change  Goya  underwent  in  this  period,  which 
affects  decisively  his  paintings,  his  etchings,  and  his  tragic  and 
terrible  drawings,  is  not  only  due  to  this  evolution  of  his  ideas  by 
discussion  and  reading,  but  by  the  scenes  seen  and  lived  through 
by  him,  which  invasion  and  war  had  brought  in  their  train. 

In  the  year  1808,  Goya  was  living  in  the  Puerta  del  Sol,  at 
No.  9,  on  the  second  floor.  His  signature  appears,  followed  by  this 
address,  in  the  register  taken  in  Madrid  of  heads  of  families  on 
whom  it  was  enjoined,  under  oath,  to  render  support,  love,  and 
fidelity  to  Joseph  Bonaparte.^  From  his  balcony  Goya  certainly 

^  Two  important  articles  which  appeared  in  “La  Ilustración  Española  y  Ameri¬ 
cana,”  “How  in  Madrid  the  oath  was  taken  to  King  Joseph  Napoleon,”  due  to  the 
erudition  and  to  the  elegant  pen  of  the  illustrious  Academician,  D.  Juan  Pérez  de 
Guzmán,  bring  to  our  knowledge  this  interesting  detail. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


129 


saw  the  arrival  on  that  2nd  of  May,  by  the  Calle  de  Alcalá,  of  the 
mamelukes  who  preceded  the  cavalry  of  General  Léfebvre-Des- 
nouettes,  and  he  was  witness  of  the  defence  of  the  people  of  Madrid, 
who  at  the  very  same  place  received  them  with  firing,  commencing 
their  unequal  struggle.  Those  scenes  of  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  May, 
not  to  mention  others  depicted  by  our  painter  of  similar  subjects, 
are  scenes  at  which  he  was  himself  present.  That  mameluke 
with  red  breeches,  who  is  falling  from  his  horse,  and  those  figures 
of  the  people — seen  in  one  of  these  pictures  attacking  with  fury 
and  in  another  in  despair  awaiting  the  moment  of  their  being 
shot— are  scenes  lived  through  and  profoundly  felt  by  the  artist, 
who  has  expressed  in  them  all  the  magnitude  of  the  tragedy 
which  commenced  with  the  combat  in  the  Puerta  del  Sol,  and 
of  which  only  God  knew  from  that  time  when,  how,  and  where  it 
would  end. 

A  few  days  later  General  Verdier  gave  siege  to  Zaragoza,  the 
city  of  Goya’s  affections,  where  his  fellow  countrymen  did  not  seem 
disposed  to  let  themselves  be  dominated  by  the  invaders. 

Little  is  known  of  what  Goya  did  during  those  months  between 
May  and  December,  1808,  but  as  in  any  case  at  the  end  of  this 
year  the  painter  appeared  in  the  region  of  Aragon — as  is  stated  by 
Zapater  and  as  we  shall  see  confirmed  in  the  following  chapter — 
it  seems  to  me  we  shall  not  be  mistaken  in  the  conclusion  that 
the  painter  remained  in  Madrid  until  the  first  siege  of  Zaragoza 
was  raised,  but  when  the  French  troops  had  retired  in  August  of 
that  year  upon  Miranda,  leaving  the  road  from  Madrid  to  Aragon 
open,  Goya  went  to  his  own  city  where  he  had  so  many  affectionate 
memories.  There  the  new  advance  of  the  French  surprised  him, 
and,  before  Marshals  Moncey  and  Montier  had  commenced  the 
second  siege  of  the  city,  the  painter  escaped,  and  not  venturing  or 
being  able  to  reach  Madrid  it  occurred  to  him  to  take  refuge  in  the 
out-of-the-way  village  of  Fuendetodos,  where  he  had  been  born 
sixty-two  years  earlier.  To  the  First  Court  Painter  of  Charles  IV, 

s 


130 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


flying  for  his  life,  deaf  and  old,  his  existence  at  that  time  may  have 
appeared,  amid  those  scenes  where  he  had  played  as  a  child,  like  a 
happy  dream  with  a  sad  awakening.  The  world  in  which  he  had 
lived,  the  position,  so  valuable  in  itself  and  still  dearer  to  him 
for  the  sacrifices  and  toil  it  had  cost  him  to  attain,  had  crumbled 
away  into  the  dust — and  perhaps  for  ever.  His  property,  his  works 
were  gone;  and  his  patrons,  dispersed  or  ill-treated,  were  scattered 
throughout  the  world. 

The  court  seemed  then  to  have  ended  its  existence;  the  sove¬ 
reigns  were  driven  out  of  their  country  by  main  force.  Not  a  few 
gentlemen,  among  them  Count  Fernán  Núñez,  that  very  model 
of  noble  bearing,  were  condemned  to  death;  and  the  duchesses, 
countesses,  and  the  gay  ladies  of  fashion  had  disappeared,  along 
with  the  facile  and  delightful  life  of  those  last  years  of  the  artist. 
To  add  to  all  this,  Zaragoza  was  in  flames  on  every  side,  the  soldiers, 
among  them  the  originals  of  his  portraits  of  the  leaden  skies,  were 
fighting  with  scanty  forces  in  the  strategic  points  of  the  Peninsular; 
and  the  people — that  people  whom  Goya  had  so  loved  and  who 
had  so  often  served  him  as  models  for  his  majas,  his  toreros,  his 
chisperos,  his  maniotas,  and  his  chiquillos — were  being  on  all  sides 
shot  down,  cut  to  pieces,  and  trampled  on  by  the  soldiers  of 
Napoleon. 

The  painter,  like  his  nation,  did  not  give  up  the  struggle. 
These  times  even  brought  to  old  Goya  the  strength  to  create  a 
greater  art — that  which  fills  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  and 
which  represents  the  strongest,  the  most  forceful,  part  of  his 
production. 

The  leading  part  in  this  was  taken  by  all  those  scenes  of  war 
and  disaster  which,  even  when  filled  to  the  brim  with  profound 
pessimism,  are  not  without  a  certain  clean  sharp  humour,  showing 
without  reserve  of  any  kind  the  gloomy  view  he  held  of  the  merits 
of  mankind.  These  works  of  Goya  belong  to  neither  one  nor  the 
other  side,  they  are  not  political,  nor  have  they  any  party.  They 


Plate  XLII 


DON  TADEO  BRAVO  RIVERO 


(P-  125) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  131 

are  simply  human.  In  them  his  greatness  reaches  its  summit,  and 
his  sense  of  actuality  lays  hold  of  the  eternal;  they  will  be  for  ever 
priceless  documents,  both  to  bring  before  us  those  days  of  sorrow, 
and  to  guide  us  towards  the  true  conception  of  the  action  of  Spain 
in  that  supreme  moment  of  her  history. 


CHAPTER  VII 
1808-1813.  Spain  Invaded 

IN  the  short  stay  of  Goya  within  the  capital  of  Aragon,  in  the 
year  1808,  and  precisely  during  the  only  months  when  it  was 
possible  to  enter  that  city — that  is  to  say  after  the  first  siege 
had  been  raised,  and  before  the  second  had  commenced — Gil  y 
Alcaide  relates  in  his  work,  “The  History  of  the  Siege  of  Zaragoza,” 
that  the  painter  made  sketches  of  the  ruins,  depicting  in  one  of 
them  the  fact  of  the  boys  having  dragged  the  dead  French  through 
the  Coso  (public  square)  in  the  battle  of  4  August.  These  sketches 
were  lost  through  having  been  covered  with  a  coat  of  paint  when 
the  French  again  approached  the  city,  a  coat  which  could  not  after¬ 
wards  be  removed.  These  works  being  lost,  we  know  of  only  one 
painted,  according  to  tradition,  in  those  months — “The  Equestrian 
Portrait  of  General  Palafox  ”  (No.  725  of  the  Prado  Museum). 
When  Goya,  as  we  are  told,  was  called  to  Zaragoza  by  its  defender. 
General  Palafox,  to  perpetuate  by  means  of  some  pictures  the  victori¬ 
ous  defence  against  the  first  siege,  nothing  could  be  more  natural 
than  that  he  should  have  then  made  the  portrait  which  remained 
in  the  possession  of  the  sitter,  since  it  was  given  later  to  the  museum 
by  one  of  his  descendants,  I).  Francisco  de  Palafox  y  Soler,  Duque 
de  Zaragoza.  The  heroic  general  is  depicted  riding  at  full  gallop  on 
a  grey  charger,  with  his  sabre  drawn,  as  if  cheering  on  his  troops,  in 
the  direction  of  a  battery  seen  firing  on  the  left.  If,  as  seems  likely, 
the  portrait  was  painted  in  those  gloomy  and  anxious  days  between 
the  two  sieges,  there  is  nothing  particularly  surprising  in  the  slight¬ 
ness  with  which  it  was  handled,  and  the  faults  of  drawing  of  the 
horse,  which  are  sufficiently  obvious.  Probably  Goya  neither  had 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


133 


at  his  disposal  a  horse  which  would  serve  as  a  model,  nor  found 
those  days  favourable  for  painting  horses.  The  figure,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  strong;  the  head  expressive.  It  seems  to  have  been  done 
before  the  living  model.  Palafox  must  have  been  able  to  give  the 
artist  some  moments  for  a  sitting  when  he  made  that  sketch  of  the 
general  seated  in  a  chair,  with  a  sabre  in  his  right  hand,  and 
narrating  to  the  painter  some  of  the  incidents  of  the  defence. 
Afterwards  Goya  would  have  finished  the  work  rapidly  and  from 
memory.  I  insist  on  this  point  because  it  is  not  infrequent,  when 
Goya  is  spoken  of  by  some  enthusiasts  of  his  art,  to  have  the  bad 
drawing  of  this  horse  brought  forward,  as  if  they  had  made  some 
great  discovery;  and  as  if  we  did  not  know,  from  what  we  have 
studied  of  the  painter’s  creation,  that  this  horse  of  Palafox  is  truly 
lamentable  in  the  carelessness  and  inaccuracy  of  its  drawing. 

The  figure  and  harmony  of  composition  of  this  work  as  a  whole 
do  not  differ  greatly  from  the  military  portraits  by  Goya  of  pre¬ 
ceding  years.  Even  if  the  background  here  is  not  very  dark,  these 
intense  tones  are  accentuated  in  the  figure,  the  darks  tend  towards 
black,  the  vermilion  towards  carmine;  and,  in  a  word,  the  whole 
tendency  of  the  painter  is  marked  towards  the  accentuated  darkness 
of  tone  which  was  to  become  later  one  of  the  characteristic  notes  of 
the  works  of  his  last  period. 

The  journey,  or  rather  the  flight  of  the  artist,  to  Fuendetodos 
is  fixed  by  Gil  y  Alcaide  in  the  month  of  November.  He  did  not 
stay  long  in  his  native  village,  seeing  that  in  December  Goya  was 
to  be  found  again  in  Madrid. 

In  1809  it  seemed  that  the  reign  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  would 
be  maintained.  Not  a  few  Spaniards,  some  of  them  of  high  position, 
gave  in  their  adhesion  more  or  less  to  the  new  state  of  things.  The 
French  king,  on  his  side,  did  all  that  was  possible  to  attract  around 
him  men  who  in  some  degree  represented  the  country.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  Goya,  who  continued  in  his  official  position 
in  the  palace.  So,  at  least,  we  are  generally  told  by  the  biographers 


134 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


of  Goya  when  they  arrive  at  this  point.  Some  of  them  make  this 
statement  as  a  simple  notice,  without  any  commentary.  Others  in 
so  doing  blame  severely  the  painter;  but  not  one  of  them  has  given 
himself  the  trouble  to  prove  the  certainty  of  this  statement.  Where 
is  it  made  clear,  what  document,  letter,  indication,  however  slight, 
does  there  e.xist  to  prove  to  us  that  Goya  was  Court  Painter  to 
Joseph  I?  I  believe  firmly  that  he  was  not  anything  of  the  sort; 
although  I  may  not  be  able  to  prove  it — since  this  negative  proof 
is  almost  impossible  to  obtain  —  I  will  give  two  facts  which  I 
believe  have  some  force,  and  seem  to  confirm  my  own  opinion  in 
this  matter.’ 

The  first  royal  favour  of  which  there  is  any  notice  as  bestowed 
on  Goya  by  Joseph  Bonaparte  appears  in  the  decree  of  ii  March 

1811,  and  is  his  nomination  for  the  “Royal  Order  of  Spain.”  In 
the  list  of  those  so  rewarded,  his  name  appears  in  the  following 
form:  “Goya  (O.  Francisco)  pintor”;  and  on  the  other  hand,  when 
coming  to  Maella,  the  words  used  arc:  “  Maella  (D.  Mariano) 
nuestro  primer  pintor  de  Camara”  (our  First  Court  Painter).  Inas¬ 
much  as  Goya  is  not  mentioned  with  the  same  title — and  it  is  not 
likely  that  from  what  we  know  of  his  character  he  would  be  recon¬ 
ciled  to  a  second  place — it  seems  logical  to  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  Goya  was  not  Court  Painter  to  Joseph  I. 

The  second  point  to  which  I  would  refer  is  an  aviso  (notice) 
inserted  in  the  “ Diario de  Madrid”  under  the  date  of  i  September 

1812.  Speaking  of  a  portrait,  which  we  shall  mention  in  its  place, 
it  is  stated  that  “  it  has  just  been  executed  by  the  First  Painter  of 
the  King,  D.  Francisco  Goya.”  At  this  date  the  Spaniards  were 
in  power  in  Madrid,  for  the  allied  Anglo-Spanish  army  was  then 
in  the  city,  and  consequently  the  king  who  was  referred  to  by  the 
“Diario  de  Madrid”  can  be  no  other  than  Ferdinand  VII.  And 

‘  These  and  other  data  which  refer  to  the  relations  of  Goya  with  Joseph  I  and 
his  court  have  been  published  in  the  book  of  D,  Felipe  Pérez  y  González,  “  Un  cuadro 
.  .  .  de  Historia.” 


DON  JOSÉ  MANUEL  ROMERO 


Plate  XLIII 


(p.  142) 


.'fl 


..fi 

"'3 


1 

óíi 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


135 


as  it  would  be  absurd  to  think  that  Goya  would  have  kept  the 
place  he  had  held  with  the  French,  this  notice  shows  to  us  that 
the  Spaniards  replaced  in  their  official  position  all  those  function¬ 
aries  who  had  performed  these  duties  in  the  reign  of  the  Bourbons, 
who,  naturally,  would  not  have  admitted  any  continuity  with  the 
Bonapartes.  Goya,  as  painter  of  Charles  IV,  continued  to  be  that 
of  Ferdinand  VII:  therefore,  as  a  consequence,  he  could  not  have 
been  that  of  Joseph  I. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Goya  maintained 
relations  with  the  court,  and  with  certain  French  individuals 
among  those  who  came  over  with  the  Bonapartes.  This  is  proved 
to  us  by  the  portraits  of  which  I  shall  speak  later.  He  had  likewise 
to  accept  the  new  king,  as  all  heads  of  families  had  to  recognize 
him,  under  penalty,  at  the  very  least,  of  banishment  or  extradition 
if  he  did  not  do  so;  and  it  seems  also  that  in  their  own  time  he 
had  been  a  partisan  of  those  tendencies  and  ideas  which  were 
founded  in  France  by  the  political  Code  of  1789.  But  all  this, 
which  is  quite  capable  of  explanation,  is  not  sufficient  to  make  us 
consider  our  painter  as  a  partisan  of  France,  above  all  with  the 
significance  which  this  qualification  had  in  those  moments. 

He  had  never  been  in  fact  a  politician,  and  had  taken  no  part 
in  the  scheming  or  intrigues  of  court  circles;  and  this  notwith¬ 
standing  his  official  position  in  the  palace,  and  his  personal  relations 
with  all  the  persons  of  the  court  from  the  sovereigns  downwards. 

If  circumstances  brought  it  about  that  his  position  in  Madrid, 
attained  by  him  after  the  work  of  a  whole  lifetime  and  through  an 
unequalled  talent,  changed  its  master,  the  fault  was  not  his;  it 
would  have  been  to  expect  very  much  from  a  man  of  sixty-two 
years  of  age  that  he  should  abandon  his  life  work  in  those  difficult 
moments  to  go  and  commence  anew  his  career  or  die  of  hunger  in 
some  remote  place,  forgotten  by  all.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
remember  that  between  our  not  having  to  consider  Goya  as  a 
French  partisan,  and  our  thinking  of  him  as  does  Ferrer  del  Rio, 


136 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


as  a  patriot  in  the  sense  in  which  this  word  is  commonly  under¬ 
stood,  and  as  supposing  that  the  artist  did  not  take  up  arms  against 
the  French  because  he  was  already  old,  there  is  a  gulf  which  it 
does  not  seem  that  Goya  attempted  to  cross. 

One  only  of  his  actions  has  the  appearance  of  having  com¬ 
promised  him  in  having  lent  his  support  to  the  invaders;  that  he 
formed  part  of  a  commission  with  Maella  and  Napoli  to  select 
works  of  great  painters  which  were  to  be  sent  to  France  to  the 
Alusee  Napoleon.  We  are  surprised  at  first  sight,  and  we  may  be 
even  disposed  to  censure  the  fact  that  a  Spanish  artist  could  point 
out  what  masterpieces  of  the  nation’s  art  should  be  sent  out  of  the 
country  in  that  manner.  But  it  is  worth  the  trouble  to  give  our 
attention  to  the  list,*  and  it  will  be  seen  with  what  cleverness — and 
we  might  almost  say  cunning  intention — this  was  done.  There 
appear  in  this  list,  even  mentioned  with  praise,  names  of  masters 
of  the  rear  rank;  and  when  there  is  no  escape  from  the  works  of 
great  painters  appearing,  they  seem  to  be  chosen  with  scarcely  less 
lack  of  judgement.  By  Velazquez  only  three  works  appear  here;  a 
portrait,  the  “  Martirio  dc  Santiago  ” — a  canvas  which  has 
disappeared — and,  as  a  work  of  exceptional  importance  and  a 
fine  composition,  “The  Goat  of  Joseph,”  to-day  preserved  in  the 
Escorial.  I  do  not  believe  we  shall  be  wrong  in  thinking  that  of 
the  many  known  works  by  Vclazcpiez,  an  artist  of  such  weight, 
such  perfection  and  such  high  level,  perhaps  this  picture  of  “The 
Goat  of  Joseph”  is  the  least  interesting,  the  least  successful,  and 
the  one  we  should  miss  the  least.  And,  moreover,  in  that  list  “the 
cat  was  often  given  for  the  hare,”  since  in  the  case  of  two  pictures 
where  there  existed  both  an  original  and  copy,  the  latter  was  sent 
and  made  to  pass  for  the  original. 

Gioya  regarded  the  invasion  and  the  war  as  a  subject  of 
thoughtful  study;  his  works  referring  to  them  are  not  patriotic 

'  Published  by  Conde  de  la  Viñaza  in  his  “  Goya,  su  tiempo,  su  vida  y  sus  obras.” 
This  list  was  made  on  25  October  1810. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


137 


and  much  less  are  they  Gallophile.  He  reproduced  the  horrors  his 
own  eyes  had  seen,  and  in  his  vision  we  come  to  know  that  he 
noticed  more  the  cruelties  and  outpouring  of  evil  passions  than  the 
exploits  of  daring  and  feats  of  heroism;  our  painter,  indeed,  left  in 
those  works — which  we  have  not  to  study  in  this  volume,  since 
they  are  not  portraits — a  most  terrible  and  bitter  judgement  upon 
war  itself.^ 

Now  let  us  return  to  his  portraits.  The  same  writers  who  gave 
us  the  information,  without  any  proof,  that  Goya  was  then  Court 
Painter,  speak  to  us  of  various  portraits  painted  by  him,  without 
telling  us  clearly  where  they  are  or  how  they  were  painted.  I  do 
not  know  them  at  all,  and  form  the  reasonable  conclusion  that 
they  never  existed.  There  would  be  surely  some  notice  when,  how, 
and  where  they  were  painted ;  there  would  be  preserved  engravings 
of  works  of  such  importance;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  here, 
nor  in  France,  nor  anywhere  is  there  any  such  notice  of  works  of 
this  kind.  And  if,  as  I  assume,  Goya  never  painted  from  life  the 
portrait  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  it  is  one  more  fact  in  favour  of  the 
supposition  that  he  was  never  the  latter’s  Court  Painter,  since  the 
least  that  could  be  required  from  an  artist  holding  such  a  high 
position  would  be  that  he  should  make  a  portrait  of  the  king. 

What  we  do  know,  and,  in  my  judgement,  there  is  nothing 
in  this  that  is  strange  and  much  less  blameworthy,  is  that,  on 
one  occasion  at  least,  he  painted  the  figure,  not  taken  from  life, 
of  King  Joseph.  This  was  due  to  the  following  circumstances: 
D.  Tadeo  Bravo  de  Rivero,  a  Peruvian  gentleman,  deputy  of  the 
city  of  Lima,  a  person  whose  figure  is  known  to  us  by  the  portrait 
Goya  made  of  him  in  1806,  described  already  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  took  no  little  part  in  the  tumultuous  politics  of  those  years. 
In  1809  there  was  appointed  a  Governor  of  the  Municipality  of 
Madrid,  and  inasmuch  as  it  would  be  correct  for  him  to  have  a 
portrait  of  the  new  king,  he  commissioned  D.  Tadeo  Bravo,  who 

'  On  this  point  may  be  consulted  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras,”  chap,  vi, 

T 


138 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


passed  as  a  good  judge  in  matters  of  art,  to  find  a  painter,  and  to 
complete  the  details  referring  to  the  portrait.  A  little  later 
D.  Tadeo  communicated  to  the  notary,  who  acted  as  secretary  to 
the  municipality,  in  writing  the  results  of  his  efforts;  and,  after 
letting  him  know  that  he  had  commissioned  the  portrait  by  the 
most  able  professor,  he  concluded  by  saying: 

“  He  is  so  without  question.  I  refer  to  D.  Francisco  Goya, 
whose  talent  has  enabled  him  to  conquer  difficulties  arising  from 
the  King’s  absence,  and  from  not  having  procured  until  now  any 
other  copy  except  the  print  in  half  profile  which,  engraved  in  Rome, 
I  had  the  honour  to  present  to  one  of  the  Municipal  Assemblies. 
With  this  slight  assistance  Sr.  Goya  has  already  composed  a 
]jainting  certainly  worthy  of  all  the  objects  to  which  it  is  dedicated, 
and  for  which  I  have  made  some  anticipations  which  the  actual 
situation  of  this  clever  professor  requires. 

“At  the  same  time  they  are  working  on  an  entrance  corre¬ 
sponding  to  the  size  of  the  picture,  which,  so  arranged,  cannot 
come  down  in  its  price  below  fifteen  thousand  reales. 

“  On  this  understanding  I  must  beg  Your  Excellency  to  put  the 
matter  before  the  illustrious  [Municipality.  Madrid.  February  27th. 
1810.  Tadeo  Bravo  del  Rivero.’’ 

This  communication  lets  us  know  both  date  and  price  of  the 
picture,  and,  moreover,  in  speaking  of  “the  anticipations  which 
the  actual  situation  of  this  clever  professor  requires,”  gives  us 
another  fact  tending  to  show  that  he  was  not  Gourt  Painter  with 
50,000  reales,  as  he  was  in  bygone  years  to  Charles  IV. 

The  work  Goya  then  made  is  less  a  portrait  than  a  picture, 
in  which  the  figure  of  the  king  appeared,  and  is  no  other  than  the 
famous  “Allegory  of  the  City  of  Madrid,”  to-day  preserved  in  the 
Town  Hall  for  which  it  was  painted.  In  it  appears  the  crowned 
city,  personified  in  a  beautiful  woman  who  leans  upon  her  shield 


DON  JUAN  ANTONIO  LLORENTE 


Plate  XLIV 


(P-  143) 


1 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


139 


and  points  to  a  large  medallion,  which,  on  the  right  of  the  picture, 
is  upheld  by  two  angels;  Fame  and  Victory  occupy  the  upper 
part  of  the  canvas.  Everything  in  this  picture  is  intact  and  well 
preserved  except  the  medallion,  from  which  the  portrait  of  Joseph 
Bonaparte  has  disappeared,  and  its  place  is  now  taken  by  the 
inscription  “  Dos  de  Mayo  ”  (2nd  of  May).  The  transformations 
this  picture  has  suffered  from  the  year  1810  up  to  the  present  are 
curious,  and  reflect  the  series  of  changes  through  which  the 
politics  of  Spain  passed  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

Two  years  after  this  picture  was  painted,  and  as  a  consequence 
of  the  battle  of  Salamanca,  won  by  the  Anglo-Spanish  army,  the 
French  had  to  abandon  Madrid,  where  the  advance  guard  of  the 
army  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington — recently  named  by  the  Spanish 
Cortes  “Duque  de  Ciudad  Rodrigo” — was  already  arriving,  on 
10  August  1812.  Celebrations  were  being  prepared  in  the 
Town  Hall,  and  the  picture  clearly  could  not  remain  in  its  existing 
form.  It  was  arranged  that  it  should  pass  for  an  allegory  of 
the  City  of  Madrid,  only  the  portrait  which  appeared  on  the 
medallion  being  effaced,  substituting  for  it  the  word  “Consti¬ 
tución.”  However,  the  stay  of  the  allied  army  was  not  then  to  be 
lasting  in  Madrid.  On  2  November  in  the  same  year,  1812,  King 
Joseph  returned  to  enter  with  the  French.  Those  persons  were 
quickly  noticed  who,  during  his  forced  absence  from  the  city, 
had  removed  all  the  political  tokens  of  the  Bonapartist  domina¬ 
tion.  Among  these  last  was  included  the  portrait  of  our  picture. 
In  the  session  of  the  Municipal  Council  of  30  December  of  that 
year  it  was  agreed : 

“  ...  to  give  notice  to  D.  Francisco  Goya,  the  author  of  the 
said  picture,  that  he  should  immediately  assist  at  the  Consistorial 
Assemblies,  and  that  it  should  be  placed  once  more  in  the  condition 
and  state  in  which  it  was  before,  erasing  the  word  ‘  Constitución  ’ 
and  substituting  the  countenance  of  King  Joseph.” 


140 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Goya  was  not  slow  in  this  restoration,  since,  on  the  date 
of  2  January  1813,  he  made  the  following  official  communication 
to  the  Secretary: 

“  You  can  inform  the  Municipality  of  the  City  of  Madrid  that 
the  Allegorical  picture  is  already  in  its  original  state,  with  the 
painting  of  His  Majesty,  the  same  which  I  painted,  as  it  was 
when  it  came  from  my  hands. 

“Which  I  communicate  to  you  for  your  information. 

“  Fran.co  de  Goya.” 

Five  months  after  the  date  of  this  communication,  in  May  of 
that  same  year  of  1813,  Joseph  Bonaparte  and  all  his  following 
left  Madrid  to  return  never  more.  A  little  later  the  municipality 
agreed  that  there  should  be  effaced,  this  time  definitely,  the  portrait 
of  King  Joseph,  and  that  it  should  be  again  replaced  by  the  word 
“Constitución.”  Goya  once  again  intervened  in  this  simple  task, 
which  he  entrusted  to  a  pupil  named  Dionisio  Gomez. 

The  year  following,  Ferdinand  VII,  inflamed  by  the  re¬ 
actionary  elements  which  were  around  him,  began  to  display  a 
tendency  in  Spanish  policy  in  which  any  manifestation  whatever 
of  Constitutionalism  might  lead  to  imprisonment  with  hard  labour 
or  banishment.  The  word  “  Constitución  ”  suddenly  disappeared 
from  the  picture  and  its  place  was  taken  by  a  jjortrait  of  the  king, 
made,  as  it  appears,  badly  and  in  a  hurry,  I  do  not  know  by  whom. 
It  was  apparently  so  faulty  tliat  in  1826  the  municipality  decided 
that  another  should  be  painted,  but  this  time  of  the  same  person. 
The  painter  commissioned  to  make  this  new  transformation  was 
the  famous  portraitist  of  those  years,  Vicente  Lopez.  The  curious 
receipt  referring  to  this  says  as  follows: 

“  I  have  received  from  the  Commissioners  of  the  most 
Excellent  Corporation  of  this  very  heroic  City  the  sum  of  two 
thousand  reales  de  vellón,  for  the  portrait  of  Our  Lord  the  King 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  141 

whom  God  preserve,  which  I  have  placed  in  the  painting  of  Don 
Francisco  Goya.  .  .  . 

“  Madrid  28th.  of  September  of  1826. 

“Vicente  Lopez. 

“—Namely  2,000  reales  de  vellón—” 

We  know  that  in  the  year  1841  other  winds  were  blowing, 
since  a  document  exists,  a  paper  among  the  municipal  archives  of 
Madrid,  which  reveals  the  fact  that  the  portrait  made  by  Vicente 
Lopez  was  effaced,  and  in  its  place  was  set  the  book  of  the 
Constitution.  In  this  condition  the  picture  reached  the  year  1872, 
when  the  Marqués  de  Sardoal,  then  Mayor  of  Madrid,  was 
informed  by  his  two  friends,  D.  Cristóbal  Ferriz  and  D.  Luis 
Foxá,  both  very  competent  in  matters  of  art  and  learning,  of  the 
vicissitudes  through  which  this  picture  had  passed.  By  order 
of  this  mayor  the  picture  was  handed  over  to  the  distinguished 
artist,  D.  Vicente  Palmaroli,  with  the  object  of  disclosing  the 
successive  layers  of  paint,  in  order  to  see  if  it  were  possible 
eventually  to  leave  it  in  its  original  state  with  the  portrait  of 
Joseph  Bonaparte.  There  were,  in  fact,  found  traces  of  all  these 
inscriptions  and  portraits,  but  in  a  very  dilapidated  state,  since 
each  artist  undoubtedly  had  partly  scraped  off  what  had  preceded 
in  order  to  work  more  easily.  On  arriving  at  the  last  painting 
beneath  there  was  scarcely  a  trace  to  be  found  of  the  brushwork 
of  Goya.  Palmaroli  was  preparing  once  more  to  fill  the  medallion 
with  the  inscription  “  Constitución,”  when  the  ingenious  Luis  Foxá 
exclaimed:  “Constitución  another  time  .  .  .  ?  By  no  means!  In 
Spain  reaction  is  always  waiting  for  us  and  continually  reappears; 
this  word  has  been  already  erased  from  the  picture  several  times, 
and  we  have  now  to  give  the  picture  a  lasting  character.”  And 
he  proposed  to  the  mayor  that  something  should  be  put  on  with 
which  all  would  be  agreed,  and  which  would  have  in  a  certain  way 
a  relation  with  Madrid  and  with  Goya — namely:  “  Dos  de  Mayo.” 


142 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  V  T.UCIENTES 


So  it  was  done,  and  so  is  the  picture  now'  preserved  in  the  City 
Hall  of  Madrid. 

I  know'  this  curious  history  through  having  heard  it  related 
by  my  good  friends,  Sres.  Ferriz  and  Foxá,  from  w'hom  I  learned 
so  much,  and  to  whom  it  is  right  to  dedicate  a  w'ord  of  remem¬ 
brance  in  a  book  about  Goya,  the  painter  of  their  special 
enthusiasm.  Their  narrative  on  this  point  agrees  entirely  with  that 
of  D.  Felipe  Pérez  y  Gonzalez  in  his  book  already  mentioned, 
where  appear  documents  and  dates,  some  of  which  I  have  made 
use  of,  and  which  in  their  greater  part  were  brought  to  light  by 
the  learned  librarian  of  the  city,  D.  Carlos  Cambronero,  a  friend 
and  to  some  extent  a  collaborator  of  the  Sres.  Ferriz  and  Foxá. 

There  is  no  doubt,  and  it  is  proved  by  the  portraits  of  which 
we  are  about  to  speak,  that  Goya  maintained  relations  with 
persons  who  belonged  completely  to  the  court  of  Joseph  I.  As  a 
type  of  these  portraits  that  of  the  Minister,  D.  José  Manuel 
Romero  (Plate  41),  may  serve  us,  with  the  uniform  of  his  high 
office  which,  with  all  its  gold  lace,  decorations,  ribbons  and  crosses, 
seems  as  if  it  were  too  large  for  him  and  weighed  him  down,  and 
that  his  insignificant  person  could  not  bear  the  weight  of  all 
these  honours.  The  Francophile  Minister  rests  his  right  hand  on 
the  opening  of  his  unbuttoned  waistcoat;  this  is  of  scarlet  with 
wide  embroidery  and  is  partly  covered  by  the  blue  coat,  em¬ 
broidered  also  over  scarlet  on  the  facings  of  the  sleeves;  he  wears 
breeches  or  trousers  of  blue,  embroidered  shirt  frills,  and  lace  cuffs. 
The  red  ribbon  crosses  his  breast,  a  distinction  which  Bonaparte 
had  instituted  in  Spain,  known  by  the  people  with  the  contemptu¬ 
ous  name  of  the  Order  of  the  Egg-plant. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  art  this  work  is  very  striking,  and 
the  fine  quality  of  the  head  and  expressiveness  of  the  face  are  on 
the  level  of  the  technical  skill  appearing  in  the  rest  of  a  picture 
rich  in  details,  yet  simple  in  its  ensemble,  expressing  as  a  whole  a 
most  complete  artistic  mastery. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


143 


We  may  also  mention  here  the  sober  and  powerful  likeness — 
with  that  note  of  black  which  we  have  already  described,  and  a 
vermilion  as  strongly  defined  as  is  the  black,  while  the  expression 
of  the  sitter  possesses  extraordinary  reality  and  life — of  D.  Juan 
Antonio  Llórente  (Plate  42),  a  person  of  interest  and  one  who  has 
perhaps  been  unfairly  blamed,  since  in  him  there  were  not  lacking 
traits  of  generosity  and  courage  which  make  him  sympathetic; 
and  whose  life,  in  any  case,  is  a  reflection  of  those  times  of  trans¬ 
formation  and  disturbance.  Llórente  was  a  native  of  Rioja  who 
had  entered  the  Catholic  Church  very  young.  He  gave  himself 
later  to  studies  which  brought  him  into  the  Liberal  camp  and 
to  Rationalism,  but  without  abandoning  his  ecclesiastical  position, 
through  which  he  believed  he  could  render  great  benefits  to  his 
country.  Appointed  Secretary- General  of  the  Inquisition,  he 
formed  in  1794  a  plan  for  reform  of  the  Holy  Office,  in  which  it 
would  seem  that  Godoy  and  Jovellanos  were  ready  to  assist  him. 
When  these  politicians  fell  into  disgrace  Llórente  was  attacked  as 
a  disturber  of  the  peace.  A  great  enthusiast  for  France,  in  whose 
Revolution  and  principles  he  believed  that  he  saw  the  salvation  of 
humanity,  he  became  noted  for  his  protection  of  all  French 
interests.  He  had  already  protected  and  helped  years  before  the 
French  priests  who  had  fled  from  their  country,  and  in  1808  he 
accepted  Joseph  Bonaparte  with  enthusiasm,  in  the  belief  that  the 
ideas  he  brought  with  him  would  be  the  regeneration  of  Europe. 
He  was  admitted  into  the  Council  of  State;  and  when  the  French 
had  to  fly  he  followed  Joseph  Bonaparte  into  exile.  In  France 
he  published,  among  other  works,  the  “  History  of  the  Inquisi¬ 
tion”;  and  remained  there  until  1823,  when  he  abandoned  this 
country  of  his  affections.  He  arrived  in  Madrid,  and  died  the  same 
year  of  grief  and  sadness,  discouraged  by  the  fickleness  of  men 
and  the  ingratitude  of  nations.  His  figure  has  passed  down  to 
history  known  by  the  one  party  as  the  Inquisitor  Llórente,  and  by 
the  other  with  the  epithet  of  the  Rationalist  Canon  ;  by  all,  however. 


144 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


as  a  man  who  represented  his  times.  The  portrait  belongs  without 
doubt  to  the  years  of  his  triumph,  those  of  the  Bonapartist 
domination. 

Not  only  did  our  painter  make  the  portraits  of  Spanish  persons 
who  were  connected  with  the  French  party,  but  also  of  the  French 
themselves,  as,  for  instance.  General  Nicolas  Guye  and  others. 

The  portrait  of  this  general  (Plate  43)  and  the  other  of  his 
nephew,  Victor  Guye,  were  destined  for  a  little  village  of  the  French 
department  of  the  Jura,  whence  this  family  derived  its  origin. 
Unknown  by  critics  and  art-lovers,  these  portraits  appeared  in 
Paris  a  few  years  ago.  I  saw  them  for  the  first  time  in  the  Galerie 
Trotti,  and  was  cordially  invited  to  write  on  them  and  make  them 
known.  My  work  on  this  subject  was  published  in  the  French 
review,  “  Les  Arts,”  in  April  of  1913  under  the  title  of  “  Deux 
Portraits  Inédits  de  Goya.”  They  went  later  to  the  Galerie 
Knoedler. 

Nicolas  Guye  was  one  of  those  soldiers  of  the  Empire  who 
rose  to  fortune  rapidly  and  brilliantly.  He  received  his  baptism  of 
blood  at  Austerlitz,  and  took  part  later  in  various  succeeding 
campaigns.  Made  a  general  in  1808,  he  came  to  Spain  as  aide-de- 
camp  to  Joseph  I,  and  remained  there  until  the  French  army 
abandoned  the  Peninsula,  since  he  was  wounded  on  the  heights  of 
I  run  protecting  the  passage  of  the  Bidasoa  when  the  French  rear¬ 
guard  was  retiring.  His  king  had  entrusted  him  with  difficult 
missions  during  his  stay  in  Spain.  He  fought  with  \.\\t  guerrilleros, 
influenced  Marshal  Suchet  in  his  decision  to  initiate  a  manoeuvre 
in  conjunction  with  the  army  of  the  Sur  which,  according  to  the 
French,  saved  Valencia,  and  in  February  of  the  year  1812  obtained 
a  victory  near  Siguenza  at  the  head  of  picked  troops,  in  which 
a  part  of  the  Royal  Guard  and  Corps  under  the  command  of 
General  Hugo  took  part.  Goya  shows  us  this  person  seated  in 
three-quarter  length,  with  his  legs  crossed,  dressed  in  his  brilliant 
uniform,  and  with  his  cocked  hat  in  his  hands.  The  head,  the  best 


GENERAL  GUYE 


Plate  XLV 


(p.  144) 


3 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


145 


part  of  the  work,  is  very  fine,  and  its  life  and  expression  seem 
reality  itself.  Dark  in  its  general  colouring  and  background,  the 
figure  itself  stands  out  as  very  strongly  coloured.  Painted  in  the 
year  1810,  this  work  is  typical  of  those  of  Goya  of  that  date, 
especially  with  its  colouring.  On  the  back  of  the  canvas  could 
be  read  the  following  inscription,  which  naturally  would  have 
disappeared  when  the  picture  was  framed  and  backed:  Dn 

Nicolas  Gttye,  Marquis  de  Rio-Milanos,  Gónéral  Aide  de  Camp 
de  S.  M.  CatJwlique.  Membre  de  la  Legion  d' Honneur  de  1' Empire 
Francais,  Commandeiir  de  I' Or  dr e  des  Deux-Siciles  et  Commandeur 
de  I'ordre  Royal  de  Spagne,  etc.  Né  á  Lonsle-Saíinier  [Jura)  le 
\er.  Mai  1773.  Doítné  á  Vincent  Guye,  son  frére.  A  Madrid  le 
\er.  Octobre  1810.”  And  then  in  Spanish:  “Painted  by  Goya.” 

The  portrait  of  this  sitter’s  little  nephew  (Plate  44)  is  typical 
of  the  portraits  of  children  made  by  Goya  during  this  period.  He 
is  a  little  fair  boy  about  six  years  of  age,  with  a  very  French  type 
of  face,  who,  standing  upright  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  appears  to 
us  in  front  view,  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  page  of  Joseph  I,  in 
dark  blue  with  gold  lace.  The  general  tone  of  this  work,  however, 
is  also  dark.  Even  though  inferior  to  the  portrait  of  the  general,  it 
is  all  the  same  a  fine  example,  in  which  he  has  caught  the  simple 
and  spontaneous  expression  of  childhood.  Serious  and  a  little 
mistrustful,  to  judge  by  his  expression,  with  the  eyebrows  slightly 
knitted,  the  little  Victor  seems  somewhat  tired  of  standing  as 
model  and  anxious  for  the  sitting  to  end.  This  canvas  also  contains 
an  inscription  in  the  lower  part  which  says:  “  Ce  portrait  de  mon 
Fils  a  été peint  par  Goya  potir  faire  le  pendant  de  celui  de  mon 
Frere  le  General!'  Signed:  ''  Vt  Guye!' 

The  fact  that  Goya  had  painted  portraits  of  Frenchmen,  and 
partisans  of  France,  did  not  prevent  him  later  painting  those  of 
Englishmen  and  Spaniards.  He  was  a  painter,  an  artist  whom 
war  had  made  to  think  very  deeply — as  he  shows  us  in  works 
drawn  from  his  own  reflections.  However,  as  far  as  portraits 

u 


146 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


were  concerned  he  painted  those  who  gave  him  commissions,  with¬ 
out  the  nationality  of  his  sitters  having  for  him  other  importance 
than  that  of  showing,  accordingto  the  race,  the  characterof  themodel. 

In  the  first  days  of  August,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  entered 
Madrid,  where  he  stayed  for  some  months,  and  with  him  came  the 
generals  of  the  Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese  army,  España,  Alava, 
and  the  Conde  de  Amarante.  It  is  from  this  time  that  the  portraits 
date  which  Goya  made  of  the  famous  English  generalissimo. 

Legend  relates — for  I  should  not  dare  to  describe  as  history 
what  has  no  base  of  proof  and  no  appearance  of  likelihood — that 
when  Goya  was  painting  the  ])ortrait  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
he  interpreted  a  gesture  of  the  latter  as  a  sign  of  disapproval  or 
contempt,  and  that  fijrthwith  the  painter  seized  hold  of  some  pistols 
which  he  had  on  the  table,  with  the  intention  of  killing  the  general, 
a  tragedy  which  was  prevented  by  the  ])ersons  who  were  present. 
It  does  not  seem  probable  that  such  a  scene  could  ever  have  taken 
place.  Neither  would  Wellington  have  committed  the  indiscretion 
which  is  mentioned  as  its  motive,  nor  would  Goya  himself  have  been 
capable,  above  all  with  a  sitter  of  this  importance,  of  having  yielded 
to  such  a  fit  of  passion;  nor  yet  again  do  artists  usually  paint  with 
loaded  pistols  on  the  table  of  their  studio,  nor  still  less  would  such  a 
piece  of  folly  in  those  times  of  war  have  escaped  prompt  punish¬ 
ment.  This  may  remain  then  as  one  of  the  many  anecdotes  which 
are  told,  in  connection  with  Goya  and  his  brusque  and  irritable  char¬ 
acter,  by  those  writers  who  believe  they  will  give  greater  interest 
to  their  work  by  relating  extraordinary  things,  even  though  they 
may  indict  injury  on  the  persons  to  whom  that  work  is  dedicated. 

What  portrait  or  portraits  did  Goya  make  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington?  I  know  two  of  importance  painted  in  oil,  and  a  draw¬ 
ing  of  yet  greater  interest.  This  drawing,  made  in  red  chalk,  is  only 
of  head  and  shoulders;  the  head,  however,  is  very  carefully  drawn, 
and  the  characteristic  traits  of  the  features  thoroughly  worked  out. 
It  is  now  preserved  in  the  British  kluseum.  I  can  think  of  no 


VICTOR  GUYE 


Plate  XLVI 


(P.  145) 


i 

■!} 

!■? 


4 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


147 


more  impressive  praise  to  bring  out  the  artistic  interest  and  im¬ 
portance  as  a  likeness  of  this  drawing  than  to  repeat  what  the 
English  writer,  Mr.  Hugh  Stokes,  in  his  valuable  book  “Francisco 
Goya,”  says  in  speaking  of  it:  the  red  chalk  sketch  “  is  cer¬ 
tainly  the  most  faithful  portrait  in  existence  of  the  great  General.” 
I  do  not  know  all  the  portraits  extant  of  Wellington,  but  this  is 
in  fact  a  marvellous  characterisation,  and  shows  that  it  has  been 
made,  without  any  doubt,  from  the  life.  A  notice  accompanying 
this  portrait  signed  by  Goya  (undoubtedly  written  by  Javier,  the 
son  of  the  painter)  and  dated  in  the  year  1808,  says;  “A  drawing 
made  in  Alba  de  Tormes  after  the  battle  of  Arapiles  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  for  whom  the  portrait  was  made.”  All  this  seems 
to  be  correct,  except  that  it  was  made  in  Alba  de  Tormes,  since  we 
do  not  know — nor  is  it  likely — that  Goya  was  ever  on  such  a  field 
of  battle.  The  portrait  was  probably  made  in  Madrid  during 
Wellington’s  stay  at  the  court. 

Would  this  drawing  then  be  the  only  portrait  which  he  made 
directly;  or  would  he  have  painted  at  the  same  time  one  of  those 
heads  which  he  was  accustomed  to  make  of  the  great  persons  whose 
portraits  were  entrusted  to  him?  The  study,  if  it  existed,  is  unknown 
to-day,  and  in  any  case  it  seems  that  it  would  have  been  like  the 
drawing  as  to  position,  etc.,  since  in  the  two  portraits  he  made  of 
Wellington  the  sitter  appears  exactly  as  he  is  in  the  drawing.  Goya, 
at  any  rate,  made  no  delay  in  painting  the  most  important  of  these, 
since,  as  we  have  said,  the  English  general  did  not  arrive  in  Madrid 
until  the  month  of  August,  and  in  the  “  Diario  de  Madrid  ”  of  the 
ist  of  September  of  that  same  year,  1812,  we  read  a  notice,  which 
says  as  follows: 

“  From  tomorrow,  Wednesday  the  2nd.  until  Friday  of  the 
present  month  will  be  opened  to  the  public  the  rooms  on  the  first 
floor  of  the  Royal  House  of  the  Academy  of  the  Three  Noble  Arts. 
In  one  of  these  will  be  on  view  the  equestrian  portrait  of  the 


148 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


General-in-Chief  Lord  Wellington,  Duque  de  Ciudad  Rodrigo, 
which  has  just  been  executed  by  the  First  Painter  of  the  King  and 
Director  of  the  Academy,  D.  Francisco  Goya.” 

This  portrait,  little  known  to-day  and  of  which  I  do  not  be¬ 
lieve  a  photograph  exists,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  present  Duke 
of  Wellington  in  his  fine  country  house  at  Strathfieldsaye.  I  was 
able  to  see  it  some  years  ago,  thanks  to  the  courtesy  of  its  noble 
possessor.  The  victorious  general  appears  in  this  portrait  riding 
towards  the  left  upon  a  black  horse  with  a  white  mark  upon  its 
forehead,  over  a  smooth  green  turf,  while  in  the  distance  some 
blue  mountains  make  a  broken  line.  The  rider,  who  carries  his  hat 
in  his  hand,  wears  a  dark  blue  coat,  bkick  breeches,  a  sash  of  red, 
and  a  white  waistcoat.  In  spite  of  the  importance  which  this  work 
presented  for  the  artist,  it  shows  clear  traces  of  having  been  done 
in  a  hurry  and  with  the  greatest  carelessness.  To  this  is  added  its 
lamentable  state  of  preservation,  dirty,  blackened,  gone  dead  in 
colour,  cracked  in  portions;  and  we  shall  understand  the  disap¬ 
pointment  which  is  felt  before  this  work  by  the  few  visitors  it  has 
had  in  recent  times. 

The  other  portrait  (Plate  45)  of  the  same  person,  shows  him 
at  half  length,  wrapped  in  a  blue  coat,  his  right  hand  appearing 
through  the  opening  of  the  fold,  leaving  visible  a  shirt  with  frills 
and  a  red  ribbon  which  seems  to  belong  to  some  order.  The  head, 
covered  here  with  a  large  cocked  hat  with  white  feathers,  is  the 
same  as  appears  in  the  portrait  previously  mentioned,  and  in  the 
dr¿iwing  by  means  of  which  it  was  probably  made.  It  is  weak,  the 
weakest  point  of  the  painting,  nor  does  it  seem  to  be  copied  from 
life.  It  preserves,  in  spite  of  this,  the  character  of  those  fine  features, 
with  their  eagle  glance.  The  dark  background,  of  a  tone  of  bluish 
earth  colour,  harmonizes  very  well  with  the  colours  of  figure  and 
dress,  giving  a  fitting  resultant  note  of  colour.  This  portrait  was 
in  the  possession  of  the  descendants  of  the  General  Alava,  who 


LORD  WELLINGTON 


Plate  XLVII 


(p.  148) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


149 


fought  at  Wellington’s  side  against  the  French,  which  makes  us 
think  it  was  either  a  present  from  the  general  to  his  companion 
at  arms,  or  a  commission  of  the  Spanish  soldier  who  wished  to 
have  the  portrait  of  his  general-in-chief.  To-day  it  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Havemeyer  collection  in  New  York. 

There  is  yet  another  portrait  mentioned,  this  last  preserved  in 
England;  but  as  I  have  not  seen  it  I  cannot  express  any  opinion. 
Its  appearance  is,  however,  excellent  in  the  reproductions  which 
have  been  made  of  it.  The  head  is  always  the  same,  and  identical 
with  that  of  the  drawing  above  mentioned. 

From  the  artistic  point  of  view,  the  portraits  of  Spanish 
soldiers,  made  by  Goya  at  this  date,  are  of  slight  importance.  In 
the  Artillery  Museum  some  are  to  be  found,  like  that  of  the  Baron 
de  Eróles,  attributed  to  our  artist.  Others  have  appeared  in 
private  collections.  The  most  interesting  of  these  is  the  one 
representing  Juan  Martin,  “  El  Empecinado,”  which  brings 
before  us  the  popular  guerrilla  leader.  Reproduced  several  times, 
perhaps  copied  later,  the  first  and  perhaps  the  best  which  I  know 
is  the  one  which  appeared  from  the  collection  of  Sr.  Navas,  in  the 
Exhibition  of  the  Works  of  Goya  in  1900:  I  do  not  know  its 
present  owner. 

The  years  of  war  following  1808,  when  Goya  was  not  Court 
Painter,  and  when,  as  we  have  seen  by  documents  already  referred 
to,  his  economic  position  was  difficult  and  required  advances  upon 
his  few  commissions,  are  those  years  when  he  lived  withdrawn 
from  the  city  in  a  house  then  very  isolated  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Manzanares,  known  to  the  people  around  as  “  La  Quinta  del 
Sordo.” 

This  “quinta,”  this  modest  house  which  the  national  negli¬ 
gence  has  permitted  to  perish  a  few  years  ago,  was  situated  on  the 
left  of  the  bridge  of  Segovia,  as  we  leave  the  town  and  royal  build¬ 
ings,  upon  a  height  whence  is  obtained  a  view  of  Madrid. 
From  his  windows  Goya  could  see  the  picturesque  outlines 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


150 

of  that  city,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  his  triumphs,  but  was 
embittered  at  that  time  by  the  passions  of  parties,  stained  with 
blood,  and  terrorized  by  reprisals  and  sieges ;  and  as  if  dominating 
it,  that  vast  structure  of  the  Palace,  where  our  artist  had  so  often 
worked,  and  the  seat  of  that  ancient  kingdom  for  which  the 
armies  of  different  mighty  nations  were  struggling.  And  there 
upon  the  horizon  arose  the  Guadarrama  mountains,  serving  as  a 
background  to  that  most  exquisite  landscape  whose  beauties  had 
been  often  reproduced  by  Velaz(|uez  and  by  Goya  himself,  in  works 
which  seem  to  be  precursors  of  the  so-called  luminist  movement, 
which  has  given  in  our  own  time  its  best  results.  In  this  move¬ 
ment  certain  Spanish  artists  have  been  distinguished,  among  them 
notably  a  landscape  painter  who,  a  faithful  observer  of  nature  and 
a  lover  of  the  cities  of  Castile,  has  continued  the  Spanish  tradition 
in  harmony  with  the  modernism  of  our  own  day. 

Perhaps  the  contemplation  of  this  wide-stretching  view  served 
to  soothe  the  saddened  and  over-strained  spirit  of  the  artist.  For 
that  such  was  his  state  of  mind  seems  to  be  proved  to  us  by  his 
works  of  those  years.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  took  in  hand  the 
decoration  of  his  countr}'  house;  nor  could  he  be  more  intimate 
than  he  is  in  those  works,  to-day  preserved  in  the  Museo  del  Prado, 
whose  study  and  analysis  merit  a  lengthy  work  which  this  is  not 
the  moment  to  attempt.  Behind  those  scenes,  all  of  them  of  terrible 
character,  of  gatherings  of  witches  and  wizards,  of  Fates,  of  fan¬ 
tastic  visions,  we  trace  his  creative  spirit  busily  at  work.  “Saturn 
devouring  his  own  children  ’’  served  as  decoration  to  the  dining¬ 
room  of  that  house.  “  La  Manola,”  the  most  nearly  human  figure 
of  all  that  he  produced  on  those  walls,  placed  at  the  entrance, 
seemed  to  receive  the  visitor.  Yet  she  is  not  one  of  those  majas 
which  the  painter  had  created  years  before,  overflowing  with  life 
and  grace;  she  is  a  veiled  figure — mysterious,  almost  sinister, 
'bhe  eftect  of  all  these  works  of  supreme  originality  reaches  to  the 
highest  level  of  art. 


D""  JOSEFA  BAYEU,  WIFE  OF  GOYA 


Plate  XLVIII 


(p.  152) 


yl- 


I 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


151 

Well  did  Goya  say  that  “  the  dream  of  reason  produces 
monsters  and  within  these  walls,  thus  decorated,  Goya  produced 
those  drawings  and  etchings  with  subjects  of  the  war,  wherein  he 
depicted  the  Spaniards  attacking  the  French — “  With  reason  or 
without”;  a  group  of  wounded,  “Cure  them  for  another  time — 
they  can  still  be  of  service  ”  ;  or  a  field  of  battle  covered  with 
corpses,  which  makes  him  exclaim,  “  It  does  not  matter;  it  is  for 
this  that  they  were  born.”  I  seem  to  see  clearly  and  unmistakably 
the  sudden  and  violent  change  which  the  war  stamped  upon  the 
character  of  Goya  and  his  native  art,  and  I  consider  it  unnecessary 
to  insist  on  this  point.  The  painter  of  the  majas,  of  the  gay  scenes 
of  court  and  popular  life  and  of  the  portraits  had  become  trans¬ 
formed  into  the  creator  of  these  other  scenes  of  grief  and  terror; 
and  the  man  of  the  eighteenth  century  into  the  man  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

We  cannot  tell  precisely  how  many  years  nor  with  whom  he 
lived  in  the  Quinta.  It  seems  probable  that  he  did  not  leave  it 
until  he  left  his  own  country;  and  it  seems  at  the  same  time 
reasonable  to  suppose  that,  at  least  in  the  first  years  of  his  retire¬ 
ment,  he  had  been  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Josefa  Bayeu.  We 
have  spoken  but  little  of  this  person  in  this  book  of  ours.  She  is 
an  insignificant  figure,  who  enters  but  little  or  not  at  all  into  the 
pictorial  work  of  her  husband.  Moreover,  educated  under  the 
influence  of  her  brothers,  the  Bayeu,  whom  she  thought  of  as  perfect 
artists,  she  had,  like  them,  a  view  of  art  very  different  from  her 
husband.  Yet  again  she  possessed  a  strong  and  obstinate  character; 
and,  in  a  word,  it  seems  that  Doña  Josefa  Bayeu,  apart  from  her 
domestic  virtues,  did  not  reach  the  level  of  the  wife  whom  that  man 
of  extraordinary  genius  deserved.  In  spite  of  this,  their  matrimonial 
life  slipped  by  in  tranquillity  and  harmony,  as  is  shown  in  the 
allusions  in  letters  to  Zapater,  where  Goya  always  speaks  of  his 
wife  with  respect  and  affection.  Opposed  as  I  am  to  tales  of  gossip, 
even  when  more  or  less  learned,  I  do  not  propose  to  give,  nor  does 


152 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


my  subject  require  it,  an  account  of  the  gallantries  which  the 
painter  permitted  himself  outside  his  own  home.  I  will  confine 
myself  to  the  established  fact  that  he  had  twenty  children  by  his 
wife  alone,  which  may  perhaps  be  taken  as  indication  of  a  continued 
affection  and  of  conjugal  felicity  considerably  above  the  average. 

Of  those  twenty  children  one  only,  Francisco  Javier,  was  living 
in  these  later  years  and  survived  his  father. 

I  cannot  state  precisely  the  date  of  the  death  of  Josefa  Bayeu. 
Some  biographers  say  that  this  took  place  in  1804;  but  this  is  not 
possible,  since  there  exists  ^  the  will  of  Goya  and  his  wife,  dated 
in  Madrid  3  June  1811,  where  they  name  as  their  single  and 
universal  heir  their  legitimate  son,  Francisco  Javier.  Doña  Josefa 
must  have  died  shortly  afterwards,  since  we  have  evidence  to  show 
she  W'as  already  dead  in  1814. 

\Ve  know  the  features  of  Goya’s  wife  by  the  portrait  (Plate  46) 
which  tradition  states  to  be  of  her  and  which  is  preserved  in  the 
Musco  del  Prado  (No.  722).  In  this  Goya  has  depicted  her  in  half 
length,  her  hands  clasped  and  covered  with  large  gloves.  She  is 
c[uictly  dressed;  her  appearance  is  modest,  and  expression  sym¬ 
pathetic,  her  complexion  fresh,  her  eyes  light  in  colour,  and 
her  hair  of  a  delightful  red  gold;  the  whole  eíTect  is  frankly 
pleasing. 

The  technique  of  this  work  shows  it  to  have  been  made  in 
these  years;  the  pronounced  blacks  and  the  touch,  more  reserved, 
more  restrained  than  is  shown  by  works  of  preceding  years,  con¬ 
firm  this  opinion. 

Dating  from  the  year  1810  are  an  interesting  pair  of  portraits 
painted  by  Goya,  in  both  cases  work  of  an  intimate  character,  in 
which  are  depicted  respectively,  D.  Juan  Martin  de  Goicoechea 
and  his  wife  Da.  Juana  Galarza  Goicoechea,  friends  of  the  artist 
and  relations-in-law,  since  Ja\’ier  Goya  married  Gumersinda,  their 
daughter.  These  portraits  appear  to-day  in  the  collection  of  the 
’  Published  by  the  Conde  de  la  Vinaza  in  his  “Goya.” 


PEPITO  CORTE 


Plate  XLIX 


(P-  153) 


,  •  f 

4 

/ 

•  t; 


■i 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


153 


Marqués  de  Casa  Torres.  They  are  figures  in  half  length,  simply 
and  lightly  painted,  and  somewhat  dark  in  tone;  the  heads  very 
true  to  life  and  expressive,  and  the  deportment  and  dress  of  the 
sitters  present  them  to  us  as  worthy  and  simple  persons  of  the 
middle  class.  That  of  the  husband  says  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
canvas  on  the  right,  in  Goya’s  handwriting;  “  D.  Martin  de 
Goicoechea  Pr.  Goya  1810”;  that  of  the  wife:  “Da.  Juana  de 
Galarza,  por  Goya  1810.” 

Those  portraits,  which  we  might  call  show  portraits,  made  by 
Goya  years  before  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  aristocracy,  he 
did  not  go  on  producing  in  this  period  of  the  war.  I  only  know 
one,  and  that  certainly  not  one  of  the  best  of  the  artist,  which  can 
be  connected  with  them,  and  which,  as  it  appears,  is  of  the  year 
1812  or  1813,  that  of  the  Duquesa  del  Parque,  to-day  in  the  pos¬ 
session  of  the  Marquesa  de  Bermejillo,  Madrid.  The  figure  of  the 
little  duchess,  who  does  not  seem  to  be  more  than  twelve  years  of 
age,  is  represented  with  a  white  dress  in  Empire  style,  seated  on  a 
rock  in  the  middle  of  a  landscape  with  great  trees,  which  cover  a 
large  part  of  the  background.  With  her  hair  cropped  in  such  a  way 
that  this  sitter  appears  a  boy  rather  than  a  duchess,  she  holds  a 
rose  in  her  right  hand,  and  with  the  left  grasps  a  basket  within 
which  two  doves  are  billing  in  a  loving  way.  Some  plants  in  the 
first  plane  and  a  rivulet  running  at  the  feet  of  the  sitter  are  not  of 
a  pleasing  effect,  and  contribute  to  disfigure  the  whole  of  this  con¬ 
ventional  and  forced  work.  Apart  from  these  shortcomings  and  its 
indifferent  state  of  preservation,  the  work  in  general  is  refined;  the 
head  seems  to  be  somewhat  thinly  painted,  swept  in  with  the  brush, 
especially  in  its  outlines  in  the  hair  and,  above  all,  of  the  ear. 

Totally  different  in  character  is  another  portrait  of  these  years, 
a  model  of  freshness  and  artistic  simplicity;  that  of  the  little 
Pepito  Corte  (Plate  47),  signed  and  dated,  although  the  date  is  so 
rubbed  that  we  cannot  be  sure  if  it  is  a  13  or  an  18.  It  seems  to 
be  the  former,  and  perhaps  the  notice  which  tells  the  name  of  the 


X 


154 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


sitter  and  the  “  Por  Goya”  is  later  in  date.  Its  authenticity  is  in¬ 
disputable.  Pepito  is  a  little  boy  of  dark  complexion  and  fair  hair, 
who  joins  to  his  infantile  expression  a  look  of  sadness  which  gives 
him  a  great  charm  and  sympathy.  He  appears  in  front  view  sur¬ 
rounded  by  his  toys;  he  wears  a  little  green  jacket  adorned  with  a 
white  lace  collar  and  purple  border,  white  trousers,  rose  coloured 
stockings,  and  light  yellow  shoes;  to  all  this  colour  must  be  added 
the  blue  of  the  drum,  the  red  and  the  white  of  the  plumes  of  his 
hat,  the  reddish  floor,  the  horse  of  dark  pasteboard,  and  the  back¬ 
ground  of  slate  grey,  which  give  a  peculiar  delicacy  to  this 
delightful  portrait.  Its  technique  is  apparently  slight,  its  brush- 
work  very  oily,  and  it  can  serve  as  a  type  of  these  works  of 
transition  and  of  progress  towards  the  portraits  of  the  later  years 
of  the  artist  where  all  is  expression  and  life. 

To  this  period  which  we  are  now  studying  it  seems  that 
various  portraits  should  be  referred  where  character  is  the  quality 
especially  aimed  at  by  their  author.  As  a  type  of  these  may  be 
taken  the  bust  portrait  of  an  elderly  person,  who  is  said  to  be  the 
historian.  Padre  La  Canal,  very  fine  in  character,  and  which  is  in 
the  possession  of  D.  Jose  Lazaro;  and  the  head  of  “El  Tio 
Paquete,”  a  blind  man  of  the  people  who  frequented  the  steps  of 
San  Felipe,  treated  in  a  manner  very  original  and  involved,  the 
property  of  the  Conde  de  Doña  Marina,  a  work  perhaps  not  pro¬ 
perly  speaking  a  portrait  so  much  as  a  study  of  the  head. 

I  consider  that  to  this  phase  of  the  artist’s  life,  which  occupied 
these  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  should  be  accredited 
the  portrait  of  a  monk  preserved  in  the  Royal  Academy  of  History. 
This  is  a  portrait  bust,  very  fine  in  colour,  made  with  so  little 
impasto  that  it  has  the  appearance  of  a  water-colour,  and  express¬ 
ing  the  most  characteristic  qualities  of  the  artist’s  latest  years. 
The  fact  of  its  being  so  little  known,  and  of  the  sitter  having  been 
finally  identified,  give  it  a  special  interest.  The  subject  treated 
here,  as  we  are  told  by  F'r.  Macario  Sanchez  y  López,  a  learned 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


155 


and  artistic  Augustinian,  is  another  Father  of  his  Order,  the 
Augustinian  Fr.  Juan  Fernández  de  Rojas,  of  the  convent  of  San 
Felipe  el  Real.  This  monk,  without  doubt  a  man  of  intellectual 
acquirements,  as  we  may  judge  from  the  expressive  features 
which  Goya  here  brings  before  us,  was  a  learned  theologian,  a  man 
of  culture  and  charm,  an  enemy  of  bad  taste,  which  he  detested 
in  every  form,  and  the  author  of  the  witty  satire,  “Crotalogia  o 
ciencia  de  las  castañuelas,”  against  the  analytic  philosophy  of  the 
school  of  Condillac  and  the  geometric  method  of  the  followers  of 
Wolff. 

As  we  are  told  by  Menendez  y  Pelayo,  the  Father  Fernandez 
de  Rojas  was  to  no  small  extent  a  Jansenist,  and  even  perhaps  a 
follower  of  Voltaire;  though  a  monk  by  profession  he  was  very 
gay  and  by  no  means  narrow  in  his  views,  seeing  that  in  his  un¬ 
published  verses  he  laments  that  he  is  a  friar,  while  still  in  full 
possession  of  his  faculties  and  young.  He  carried  forward  the 
work  of  the  “  España  Sagrada  and  at  the  same  time,  as  a  poet 
and  disciple  of  Fray  Diego  González,  cultivated  the  Muses  in 
Salamanca  in  his  younger  years;  to  his  pen  is  due  an  eclogue  and 
a  lyric  poem  on  the  death  of  Delio,  his  works  of  this  nature  being 
published  under  the  pseudonym  of  Liseno.  He  made  use  of  another 
pseudonym  by  which  he  is  better  known — that  of  Licenciado 
Francisco  Agustin  Florencio,  under  which  he  publishes  his 
“  Crotalogia  o  ciencia  de  las  castañuelas,”  a  humorous  work  where 
he  makes  fun  of  the  scientific  pedantry  of  his  contemporaries.  He 
was  a  great  friend  of  Jove  Llanos  and  Meléndez  Valdes,  and  with¬ 
out  doubt  must  have  been  so  of  Goya  as  well.  His  portrait  has  all 
the  character  of  an  intimate  work.  Moreover,  in  connection  with 
this  portrait,  there  is  preserved  in  London  in  the  British  Museum 
a  drawing  by  Goya  representing  the  head  of  a  dead  man.  This  is 
said  to  be  that  of  Fernández  de  Rojas,  and  in  fact  it  possesses  a 
certain  likeness  with  the  known  portrait  in  the  Royal  Academy  of 
History. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


156 

I  think,  too,  that  in  this  place  may  be  mentioned  the  portrait 
of  a  Franciscan  friar  of  exceptional  interest,  preserved  in  the  Berlin 
Museum  (No.  ióiqb),  acquired  by  its  director,  Dr.  von  Bode. 
More  than  full  length,  seated,  and  resting  his  right  hand  on  atable, 
this  nameless  friar  appears  before  us  almost  front  view.  His  is  a 
figure  full  of  life  and  most  happy  in  its  expression;  it  is  truth 
itself.  It  is  a  work  where  few  colours  have  been  used;  the  dress, 
of  bluish  slate  colour,  is  seen  against  a  warm  grey  background, 
and  only  the  red  of  the  cloth  covering  the  table  stands  out  in  some 
measure  from  the  neutral  dominating  tones.  Sober  and  simple  in 
its  execution,  sincere  and  open  in  its  expression,  this  is  a  work 
having  a  close  artistic  relationship  with  those  of  Velazquez.  It 
shows  clearly  that  Goya,  in  spite  of  his  fluctuations  from  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  his  personality  and  his  powers,  never  forgot  the 
strong  impression  he  had  received  from  the  art  of  Velazquez  in 
the  years  when  he  was  forming  himself  as  a  portrait  painter; 
and  it  proves  once  again  that  those  qualities,  so  definite  and  clearly 
marked,  of  the  Spanish  school  continued  through  all  the  external 
transformations  of  character  brought  about  by  passing  circum¬ 
stances,  and  imposed  by  him  on  the  taste  and  preferences  of  each 
epoch. 


FERDINAND  VII 


Plate  L 


(P-  159) 


,4 


CHAPTER  VIII 


1814-1828 

The  Last  Portraits  Painted  by  Goya  in  Madrid 

The  Exile 


"^IjiTTHEN  Ferdinand  VII  came  into  possession  of  the  throne 
of  Spain,  Goya  enjoyed  the  same  titles  and  official 
^  ^  position  as  had  been  his  in  the  reign  of  Charles  IV. 
But,  none  the  less,  his  position  in  the  palace  was  very  different, 
and  far  more  difficult  than  in  the  period  before  the  invasion. 
King  Ferdinand,  who  was  not  exactly  distinguished  for  his 
qualities  of  affection  and  generosity,  was  inevitably  disposed  to 
see  in  the  painter  a  favourite  of  his  parents,  and  a  friend  and 
protégé  of  Godoy,  and  of  the  courtiers  of  those  bygone  times.  On 
the  other  hand,  to  the  artist  himself,  the  person  of  the  Rey  Deseado 
(Longed-for  King)  could  not  be  welcome,  as  being  one  who,  besides 
having  been  a  bad  son  to  those  who  had  treated  Goya  with  such 
favour,  and  a  bad  patriot  even  in  his  exile,  seemed  now  to  have 
returned  with  the  firm  resolution  of  matching  his  conduct  as  a 
monarch  with  that  which  had  already  made  him  notorious  as  a 
son  and  a  Spaniard.  To  this  may  be  added,  that  when  for  the  first 
time  Goya  presented  himself  to  Ferdinand  we  are  told  that  this 
latter  received  him  in  a  violent  manner,  and  let  him  know  that  he 
deserved  to  be  hanged,  but  that  he  pardoned  him,  and  that  he 
should  continue  painting  as  before. 

Some  critics,  especially  von  Loga,  suppose  that  many  of 
the  portraits  made  by  Goya  of  Ferdinand  VII  are  not  of  these 
years  but  of  the  years  preceding  that  brief  time,  later  than  the 

157 


158 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Mutiny  of  Aranjuez  and  before  the  French  invasion,  when  the 
Prince  of  Asturias  held  the  office  of  King.  This  does  not  seem 
probable;  in  those  few  weeks  the  conditions  of  life  were  far  too 
disturbed  for  the  painting  of  works  of  official  character.  If  we 
examine  attentively  these  portraits,  we  shall  notice  that  in  some, 
very  few — I  only  know  of  two — the  sitter  actually  appears  some¬ 
what  younger  than  in  the  others.  One  of  these  is  the  head  and 
shoulders  with  an  ermine  fur  collar,  which  appeared,  outside  the 
catalogue,  in  the  Exhibition  of  the  Works  of  Goya  in  1900,  in  the 
possession  of  the  Conde  de  Valderro;  and  the  other  is  the  equestrian 
portrait  preserved  in  the  Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando,  where 
the  young  king  is  riding  a  dark  charger  through  an  arid  landscape, 
with  a  cane  in  his  right  hand.  This  work  recalls  to  our  mind 
similar  portraits  by  Velazquez.  Seen  in  its  outlines  against  the 
light  (in  a  photograph)  and  consecpiently  reversed,  this  likeness 
can  be  better  appreciated,  in  a  very  striking  way,  especially  in  that 
of  the  “  Equestrian  Portrait  of  Prince  D.  Baltasar  Carlos.”  It  can 
be  then  established  that  these  two  Goya  portraits  are  of  1808;  but 
the  remaining  ones,  and  there  are  not  a  few  of  these,  are  undoubtedly 
of  the  period  immediately  following  1814. 

In  this  period  something  similar  occurred  to  what  had 
happened  on  the  elevation  to  the  throne  of  Charles  IV.  The 
Ministers,  official  centres,  academies,  etc.,  desired  to  have  a 
portrait  of  the  monarch,  and  many  of  these  were  commissioned 
from  the  court  painter,  who  painted  quickly  and  rapidly  and  in 
haste  the  works  intended  to  satisfy  the  demand,  and  in  so  doing 
had  the  assistance  of  pupils. 

Even  when  the  head  in  almost  all  these  portraits  is  identical, 
which  proves  that  they  were  made  from  the  same  study  and  not 
directly  from  nature,  these  portraits  are  distinct  in  their  proportions 
and  differ  likewise  in  the  dress  of  the  sitter  and  the  background  of 
the  work.  There  are  some  in  which  Ferdinand  VII  appears  with 
the  royal  mantle,  like  that  of  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  735),  and 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


159 


others — and  these  are  the  greater  number — where  he  is  dressed  as 
a  soldier  with  varying  uniforms,  and  those  where  he  may  be  taken 
to  be  upon  a  field  of  battle,  or  at  least  engaged  in  manoeuvres,  to 
judge  from  the  horses  and  troops  seen  in  the  background.  Various 
critics — Araujo  amongst  them — have  said  that  these  portraits,  one 
and  all,  are  the  worst  thing  that  their  author  ever  did  of  the  kind. 
Such  a  statement  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  strictly  exact. 
These  portraits  are,  generally  speaking,  weak,  for  the  reasons  I 
have  already  set  forth,  and  this  is  accentuated  by  the  very  limited 
interest  which  could  be  taken  in  that  physical  type,  in  no  way 
attractive,  and  features  in  no  way  expressive.  Some  of  them, 
however,  are  of  masterly  technique.  As  an  example  may  be  taken 
that  of  the  Museo  del  Prado,  No.  724  (Plate  48),  where  the  king  is 
represented  standing  upright,  with  some  horses  in  the  background ; 
and  another  of  the  same  kind  which  could  be  seen  some  years  ago 
in  the  Supreme  Council  of  War,  where  it  had  been  almost  forgotten. 

This  last  is  a  work  slightly  painted,  very  loose  and  easy;  here, 
too,  in  the  background  are  troopers  and  horses,  but  more  distant 
than  in  the  picture  of  the  Prado,  and  at  a  gallop,  as  if  they  were 
making  a  charge.  The  head  is  always  the  weakest  part,  through 
having  been  copied  from  a  study.  This  work  seems  to  be  later  by 
some  years  than  those  before  mentioned,  for  the  reason,  as  I  have 
been  told,  that  the  tighter  coat,  opened  here,  denotes  a  change  in 
the  cut  of  the  uniform,  which  was  not  in  use  until  the  years 
following  1814.  To  this  year  seems  to  belong  another  portrait  of 
Ferdinand  Vll—important  for  its  composition  and  surroundings, 
where  he  appears  in  red  uniform  and  wearing  the  royal  crown — in 
the  Director’s  Office  of  the  Canal  of  Aragon,  at  Zaragoza.  Von  Loga 
mentions  yet  another  portrait,  a  bust  of  the  same  king,  by  Goya, 
preserved  in  Pamplona  in  the  Provincial  Assembly. 

For  this  painter,  whose  activity  knew  no  repose,  and  who  from 
his  youth,  with  prompt  and  keen  observation,  had  been  accustomed 
to  see  quickly,  it  was  not  difficult,  when  at  this  time  the  quickness 


i6o  FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 

and  certainty  of  his  hand  were  so  great,  to  undertake  pictorial 
problems  which  have  for  us  to-day  the  greatest  interest. 

The  year  1815  is  the  date  when  he  painted  different  and  very 
remarkable  portraits.  One  of  them  is  that  important  likeness  of 
the  Duque  de  San  Carlos,  the  third  to  bear  that  title,  one  of  the 
most  influential  figures  in  Spanish  politics  at  that  period.  He  was 
Majordomo  of  Ferdinand  VII  in  the  years  of  his  exile  at  Valencey, 
and  later  Lieutenant-General  and  Ambassador  in  Lisbon  and 
Paris.  He  died  in  1828.  In  his  portrait  (Plate  49),  preserved  in 
the  Director’s  Office  of  the  Imperial  Canal  at  Zaragoza,  the  duke 
appears  as  an  aristocratic  flgure  of  noble  bearing,  who  advances 
with  dignity,  wearing  a  court  dress  of  dark  colour,  seen  against  a 
grey  background  and  resting  his  left  hand  upon  a  high  cane.  It  is 
a  work  of  freshness  of  colouring  which  recalls  the  portraits  of  the 
years  preceding  the  war.  In  the  lower  part  may  be  read ;  “ El  Exemo. 
Sr.  Duque  de  San  Carlos  por  Goya.  Ano  1815.”  It  was  carried 
out,  without  any  doubt,  by  the  same  method  used  by  the  painter 
in  years  before  of  copying  before  the  sitter  the  head,  and  making 
from  it  later  the  large  portrait.  This  head,  the  preliminary  study, 
very  fine  in  colour  and  slight  in  execution,  is  preserv^ed  in  the 
collection  of  the  Conde  de  Villagonzalo.  It  differs  from  the 
studies  of  heads  for  the  picture  of  “The  Family  of  Charles  IV”  in 
that  it  is  painted  on  a  board,  certainly  very  thick,  coarse,  and  in 
the  lower  part  without  being  even  trimmed,  but  the  priming  is 
almost  the  same,  of  a  grey-red,  somewhat  lighter  than  had  been 
used  in  preceding  years.  In  the  lower  part  of  this  board,  where  it 
is  not  entirely  covered  by  the  painting,  he  has  left  portions  of  colour 
mixed  together  with  the  palette  knife,  and  resembling  the  cleanings 
of  the  palette. 

Almost  identical  with  this  large  portrait  of  the  Duque  de 
San  Carlos  is  another,  of  reduced  size  but  of  very  high  quality, 
where  the  figure  brought  into  proper  relation  with  the  background 
comes  out  in  a  very  pleasing  manner,  with  a  most  brilliant  tech- 


DUQUE  DE  SAN  CARLOS 


Plate  LI 


(P.  i6o) 


'  ’1 


\ 

I 


i 

u’ 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


i6i 


ñique  and  a  great  security  of  brushwork.  It  is  preserved  in  the 
collection  of  the  Marqués  de  la  Torrecilla  (Madrid).  It  has  been 
considered  as  a  study  for  the  large  picture;  but  to  me  it  seems 
more  than  a  study — being  far  more  advanced  than  this  last — a 
happy  and  careful  replica  on  a  small  scale. 

Of  the  same  year  is  also  the  portrait  of  the  Valencian  engraver, 
Rafael  Esteve,  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  Valencia,  also  a  very 
striking  work.  Esteve  was  a  friend  of  Goya;  he  held  the  position 
from  1803  of  Court  Engraver,  and  the  painter  praised  more  than 
once  the  art  of  his  friend.  This  superb  portrait  has  a  certain 
intimate  character  which  makes  it  doubly  attractive.  It  was 
bequeathed  to  the  Museum,  where  it  is  to  be  found  to-day,  by 
D.  Antonio  Esteve,  nephew  of  the  sitter. 

Curious  in  the  extreme  is  another  portrait,  a  prolonged  head 
and  shoulders,  of  a  nameless  person  dressed  in  uniform,  who 
carries  in  his  right  hand  a  paper  on  which  is  said  “  Auctibus 
Reipublicae  expulsus.  Pintado  pr.  Goya.  1815.”  This  belongs  to 
D.  Enrique  O’Shea  (Madrid).  I  have  stated  that  this  portrait, 
which  is  little  known,  is  singularly  curious  from  the  technique 
which  it  displays.  It  has  been  painted  on  a  very  thick  canvas, 
almost  black,  and  put  in  with  small  touches  of  the  brush  as  if  to 
obtain  a  special  vibration.  This  is  a  style  denoting  an  absolutely 
new  departure  in  the  art  of  its  author,  an  innovation  of  the  greatest 
interest  in  those  years;  and  one  which,  while  an  effort  at  a  new 
technique,  is  one  of  the  first  steps  of  Goya  towards  the  manner 
which  characterizes  those  last  works  of  his  which  are  so  remarkable 
and  in  my  opinion  have  had  such  great  results.  In  this  work 
we  may  detect  an  evident  change  in  the  values  of  the  colour, 
due  probably  to  the  dark  nature  of  the  first  preparation,  which 
with  time  has  appeared  in  different  points,  changing  the  tonality 
of  the  whole  work.  I  do  not  know  the  present  possessor  of  this 
work,  which  is  so  important  for  the  study  of  the  pictorial  develop¬ 
ment  of  its  author. 


Y 


102 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Here  also  should  be  mentioned  the  portrait  in  uniform  of  the 
“  Ilmo.  Sr.  Dn.  Ignacio  Omulryan  y  Rousera,  del  Consejo 

y  Cámara  de  Indias.  Por  Goya  1815,”  as  is  announced  by  a  sheet 
of  paper  painted  by  the  author’s  hand.  This  is  a  full  head  and 
shoulders,  a  work  similar  to  the  preceding,  and  little  known  up 
to  the  present. 

Signed,  and  dated  in  1815,  is  the  bust  portrait  which  the 
artist  has  left  us  of  himself,  preserved  to-day  in  the  Academy  of 
San  Fernando  (Plate  50).  The  head  is  marvellously  lifelike.  It 
reflects  the  good  state  of  health,  and  the  relative  and  apparent 
youth  which  the  artist  preserved  in  his  sixty-ninth  year.  The 
stormy  times  of  the  war  had  passed,  and  the  painter  hoped  to 
return  in  the  full  possession  of  his  powers  to  his  serene  labours. 
It  is  the  most  sym¡)athetic  portrait  we  know  of  him,  and  it  shows 
him  to  us  at  the  most  interesting  period  of  his  life.  To  his  mouth, 
slightly  contracted  by  a  melancholy  smile,  is  joined  the  expression 
of  his  eyes,  looking  at  us  with  a  kindly  glance,  and  somewhat 
sunk  under  the  grand  and  massive  brow,  which  is  crowned  by 
locks  not  altogether  white.  The  intimacy  of  this  work,  reflected 
in  his  expression  and  in  every  detail,  places  us  in  community  of 
spirit  with  the  artist.  lie  seems  to  smile  at  what  we  have  ven¬ 
tured  to  say  of  him — omitting  so  much  that  we  were  unable  to 
say,  and  on  the  other  hand  saying  not  a  few  things  which  are 
¡)robably  in  excess  of  the  truth. 

When  we  study  the  countenance  and  production  of  one  of 
these  extraordinary  men,  something  happens  which  not  infre¬ 
quently  occurs  in  personal  relations,  when  the  continuity  of  these 
relations,  the  course  of  conversations,  various  details  of  life, 
awake  in  us  a  bond  of  sympathy;  just  as  the  study  of  the  works, 
the  incidents  of  life,  some  special  result  of  our  investigation, 
some  false  report  which  is  overthrown,  determine  in  the  former 
case  a  state  of  enthusiasm,  of  admiration,  of  affection  no  less 
remarkable.  Thus,  when  we  see  before  us  the  portrait  of  the 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


163 


person  of  whom  we  have  ventured  to  speak,  and  have  had  the 
courage  to  criticize,  and  the  portrait  is,  like  this  one,  so  sincere 
and  so  simple — made  in  many  cases  by  a  friend  or  by  an  intimate 
— it  seems  to  us  that  we  are  communicating  with  the  subject  of 
the  portrait  as  with  some  dear  person  with  whom  we  have  been 
once  on  terms  of  intimacy  and  affection,  and  in  whom  we  see 
more  than  the  mere  picture.  I  can  say  for  myself  that  this  portrait 
bust,  which  has  now  completed  its  hundredth  year,  is,  if  I  may 
so  express  myself,  of  all  the  portraits  of  the  artist  the  one  to 
which  I  give  most  importance  and  regard  with  most  devotion; 
perhaps  because  it  is  the  one  representing  to  me  most  faithfully 
the  Goya  I  have  tried  to  know,  or  at  least  have  imagined  to 
myself  in  my  study  of  his  work  and  life,  freed  from  all  prejudice 
and  with  all  the  good  will  of  which  I  am  capable. 

There  exists  a  beautiful  replica  of  this  work  with  variations 
in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  723).  Some  say  it  is  a  copy,  and  even 
go  so  far  as  to  state  that  it  was  made  by  Alenza.  This  has  always 
seemed  to  me  a  mistake;  I  consider  it  by  Goya  and  a  very  fine 
work.  Lately,  by  placing  this  work  in  a  very  strong  light  I  have 
been  able  to  decipher  a  very  blurred  inscription  which  is  on  the 
left  half-way  down  the  canvas.  This  says;  “  Fr.  Goya.  Aragonés. 
Por  el  mismo.”  The  writing  is  indisputably  by  Goya,  and  the 
authenticity  of  the  work  thus  seems  to  be  proved. 

The  portrait  of  D.  Manuel  Garcia  de  la  Prada  ^  is  very  typical 

'  D.  Manuel  Garcia  de  la  Prada  was  a  friend  of  Goya  and  of  Moratin,  and  it  was 
he  who  delivered  to  the  Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando,  in  the  year  1828,  the  first 
portrait  which  Goya  did  of  Moratin.  I  make  a  point  of  speaking  of  this  picture, 
already  mentioned  by  me  in  this  work,  because  the  Conde  de  la  Viñaza  in  his  work 
gives  us  to  know  the  date  of  the  canvas,  attributing  it  to  1799,  and  I  make  it,  judging 
from  the  age  of  the  portrait  and  other  technical  details,  a  few  years  earlier ;  and  as  it 
refers  to  a  work  of  exceptional  value  as  a  likeness,  I  desire  that  my  judgement  should 
not  be  given  lightly  or  without  foundation.  Conde  de  la  Viñaza,  who  speaks  with 
such  documentary  authority  in  his  work,  may  perhaps  be  right  on  this  point;  but,  as 
he  does  not  bring  forward  any  conclusive  proof,  I  continue  in  my  belief,  founded  on 
the  reasons  above  given. 


104 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


of  this  period,  to  judge  by  the  dress  of  this  sitter,  who  wears  a 
blue  frock  coat  with  gilt  buttons  and  nankeen  trousers;  he  is 
standing  upright,  supporting  himself  against  a  chair  with  his 
left  hand,  and  with  the  right  caressing  a  little  dog.  This  work 
has  been  abroad  more  than  once,  and  in  different  places;  I  believe 
that  it  left  Spain  a  good  many  years  ago. 

“  Doña  Manuela  Giron  y  Pimentel  Duquesa  de  Abrantes. 
Pr.  Goya  i8i6”  (Plate  51)  is  the  description  on  a  sheet  of  music 
which  the  young  and  beautiful  duchess  holds  in  her  right  hand 
in  this  half-length  portrait.  She  is  elegantly  dressed,  and  her 
head  is  adorned  with  a  wreath  of  flowers.  The  bold  colouring 
shown  in  this  work,  its  general  tone  and  technique,  are  in  complete 
harmony  with  its  date.  It  belongs  to  the  Conde  de  la  Quinta  de 
la  Enjarada  (Madrid). 

In  the  same  year  there  is  another  very  important  portrait.  It 
is  that  of  D.  P'rancisco  Tellez  Giron,  Duque  de  Osuna,  preserved 
in  the  Alusee  Bonnat  at  Bayonne.  This  duke,  the  tenth  of  his 
name,  was  the  son  of  Goya’s  patrons  in  the  early  days  of  his 
career,  and  the  eldest  of  those  children  who  appear  in  the  family 
group,  “  Portrait  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Osuna  and  their 
children”  (No.  739,  of  the  iMuseo  del  Prado),  of  which  we  have 
taken  count  in  our  study  of  the  grey  works  of  Goya.  Standing 
upright,  his  head  uncovered,  resting  his  right  arm  on  a  rock 
which  is  situated  on  a  steep  hill  dominating  a  valley,  the  sitter 
— very  fair  in  colouring  and  a  little  inclined  to  be  stout — is 
reading  a  sheet  of  paper  that  he  holds  in  his  right  hand.  On  the 
second  plane,  and  on  aslope  of  the  ground,  his  horse  awaits  him 
under  the  charge  of  a  groom.  The  Duke  wears  a  black  tail-coat 
and  buckskin  breeches.  The  whole  effect  of  the  work,  with  the 
rocks,  trees,  and  sky,  is  grey;  but  it  does  not  recall  the  grey  tones 
of  his  works  twenty  years  before.  It  is  darker,  more  intense, 
warmer.  The  colouring,  which  is  a  little  monotonous,  gains 
animation  from  the  red  of  the  servant’s  dress.  This  is  very  fine 


Plate  LI  I 


GOYA  IN  1815.  SELF-PORTRAIT 


(P.  162) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


165 

as  a  painting  and  very  typical  of  those  years.  Painted  with  an 
absolute  indifference  as  to  whether  this  or  that  portion  comes  out 

X 

well,  what  we  notice  is  the  whole  effect,  the  total  result  of  the 
painting,  to  which  all  the  rest  has  been  subordinated. 

In  previous  portraits  of  this  importance  we  have  seen  that  the 
artist  was  wont  to  make  a  study  of  the  head  from  the  model, 
which  was  to  serve  him  as  a  preparation  for  the  finished  picture. 
Of  this  painting  all  that  I  know  is  a  very  loose  sketch  of  the  whole 
picture — a  sketch  showing  that  the  figure  was  not  of  great  import¬ 
ance,  since  we  notice  that  this  has  been  done  from  another  model 
who  has  no  likeness  whatever  to  the  duke;  the  main  point  on  this 
occasion  was  the  composition  and  the  whole  effect.  In  spite  of 
this,  the  head  in  the  large  picture  is  highly  finished,  and  has  great 
character  and  distinction.  This  work  is  signed:  “El  Duque  de 
Osuna  por  Goya  1816.” 

This  portrait  and  other  works  of  these  years  have  an  intimate 
general  connection  in  style,  tonality,  and  pictorial  treatment. 
They  vary  very  much,  it  is  true,  in  their  subjects.  Some  are 
fantastic,  others  have  fragments  of  landscape,  which  also  have 
something  of  the  fantastic,  and  there  are  various  portraits  in 
which  the  artist’s  fancy  seems  to  have  a  place.  But  their  technique 
has  always  a  similarity  which  brings  these  works  into  relation 
as  being  of  the  same  period,  and  differentiates  them  from  the 
preceding  works  of  Goya. 

No  longer  does  he  create  those  ¡najas,  models  of  grace  and 
elegance;  but  he  still  paints  some  figures  of  ladies  with  the 
mantilla,  with  lace  and  openwork  over  portions  of  the  bare  flesh, 
which  are  of  a  rare  mastery  and  show  an  unsurpassed  power  of 
technique.  As  an  example  of  works  of  this  class  may  be  taken 
that  “  Portrait  of  a  Lady  ”  which,  after  having  figured  in  various 
exhibitions,  is  to-day  preserved  in  Dublin,  in  the  National  Gallery 
of  Ireland.  This  is  a  charming  and  attractive  lady,  not  very  young, 
who  is  slightly  smiling.  In  this  work  the  broad  brushwork,  full 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


i66 

of  pigment,  has  absolutely  disappeared,  together  with  the  use  of 
the  full  blending  of  colours,  and  their  place  is  taken  by  small 
strokes  of  the  brush  which  are  not  united  or  blended,  with  the 
object  of  giving  to  the  painting  a  vivacity  and  vibration  which  it 
needs  to  replace  the  full  broad  use  of  the  brush. 

This  technique — the  speciality  of  Goya  in  those  years — is  in 
my  opinion  the  commencement  of  a  whole  school  of  technique 
which  developed  afterwards  many  years  later,  and  which,  with  the 
name  first  of  Impressionism  and  later  of  Pointellism,  in  one  of  its 
developments  aimed  at  avoiding  the  planes  of  colour  in  a  painting, 
and  at  making  painting  into  what  we  see  in  nature,  that  is  to  say 
as  difierentiated  into  a  multitude  of  tints.  The  fusion  of  colour  is 
then  only  realized  in  the  retina,  in  the  image  we  form  for  ourselves, 
but  is  not  in  the  work  itself.  I  assign  to  this  innovation  of  Goya 
the  greatest  importance,  and,  united  to  something  else  of  which  I 
wish  to  speak  later,  I  consider  it  as  the  foundation  of  that  technique 
of  Goya’s  works  which  is  going  to  show  itself  in  the  following- 
years. 

d'his  seems  to  be  the  place  to  mention,  even  when  we  are  not 
very  certain  of  its  exact  date,  the  portrait  of  “A  Young  Spanish 
Woman  ”  (No.  1705A)  of  the  Musee  du  Louvre,  remarkable  for  its 
truth  to  life  and  its  simplicity. 

In  the  year  1817  Goya  received  the  commission  for  the 
important  painting  in  which  he  had  to  depict  Saints  Justa  and 
Rufina  for  the  Cathedral  of  Seville.  In  spite  of  his  advanced  age, 
he  took  this  long  journey,  and  received  in  the  Andalusian  city 
cordial  hospitality  in  the  house  of  the  painter,  D.  José  Maria 
Arango,  whose  son  he  painted  as  a  token  of  his  gratitude.  This 
is  not  the  place  to  speak  of  the  picture  of  these  female  saints, 
which  is  of  purely  religious  character;  nor  of  its  admirable  study, 
at  one  time  in  the  possession  of  the  learned  and  intelligent  collector 
— whose  memory  can  never  be  forgotten  by  the  lovers  of  the  art  of 
our  land — D.  Pablo  Bosch,  who  died  only  recently,  and  by  his  last 


3LiJU 


DUQUESA  DE  AERANTES 


Plate  LUI 


(p.  164) 


'V')- 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  167 

testament  bequeathed  this  work,  with  his  whole  collection,  to  the 
Museo  del  Prado. 

The  following  years  are  of  the  greatest  interest  in  the  progress 
of  the  painter.  We  cannot  follow  them  by  mentioning  one  work 
after  another,  in  a  strict  chronological  sequence;  but  there  may 
be  observed  in  his  productions  of  the  years  1818,  1819,  and  1820 
something  particular,  a  very  marked  influence  in  this  man  who 
was  always  ready  to  learn,  and  that  with  the  same  enthusiasm 
at  seventy-four  as  he  had  shewn  in  the  period  of  his  youth.  Of 
his  works  of  these  three  years  the  most  important  for  its  com¬ 
position,  for  the  number  of  figures  represented,  its  dimensions,  etc., 
was  executed  in  the  year  1820,  being  “  La  Comunión  de  San  José 
de  Calasanz,”  for  the  Escuelas  Pias  de  San  Antonio,  where  it  is 
yet  preserved  in  its  own  church,  so  popular  in  Madrid  and  better 
known  as  San  Antón,  in  the  Calle  de  Hortaleza.  The  interesting 
sketch  for  this  picture  is  preserved  in  the  Musée  Bonnat,  which 
has  been  already  mentioned,  at  Bayonne. 

Goya  painted,  after  he  had  made  his  picture  for  the  Cathedral  of 
Seville,  various  compositions  of  a  religious  character,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  “The  Tears  of  Saint  Peter,”  “Santa  Isabel,” 
“San  Ildefonso,”  and  the  “Garden  of  Gethsemane,”  this  last  dated 
1819.  Was  it  a  mere  accident,  due  only  to  his  commissions,  that 
he  was  producing  works  of  a  religious  character  in  this  period;  or, 
on  the  contrary,  was  it  Goya’s  own  wish  in  those  years  to  under¬ 
take  these  subjects  and  to  compose  sacred  works?  It  does  not  seem 
easy  to  answer  this  question;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be 
asserted  that  in  “La  Comunión  de  San  José  de  Calasanz”  we  find 
an  atmosphere  of  sadness,  an  expression  of  renunciation  and  of 
ascetic  feeling  which  are  entirely  new  in  Goya,  and  which  certainly 
do  not  connect  themselves  in  our  thoughts  with  the  decorator  of 
the  Chapel  of  San  Antonio  de  la  Florida. 

In  the  work  of  “San  José  de  Calasanz”  the  saint  is  depicted 
infirm,  almost  dying,  and  receiving  from  the  hands  of  a  priest  the 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


IÓ8 

last  communion;  several  figures  in  the  background  are  watching 
this  sad  scene,  which  is  taking  place  in  the  interior  of  a  temple 
whose  grey  bare  walls  are  dimly  illuminated  by  the  weak  and  cold 
light  of  morning.  Goya,  at  the  same  time  that  he  sought  to  express 
a  greater  life  and  spirituality  in  these  figures,  was  developing 
his  technique  in  the  direction  we  have  noticed;  and  this  in  con¬ 
sequence  resulted  in  an  art  which  appears  in  him  as  new  and  less 
brilliant  than  that  to  which  we  have  become  accustomed,  but  of  a 
delicacy  of  form  and  sensibility  superior  to  that  of  his  earlier  pro¬ 
ductions.  This  result  was  undoubtedly  due  to  his  condition  of 
mind,  his  preferences,  exaltations  of  spirit,  and  his  experiences; 
and  as  thirty  years  before  he  had  found  in  the  technique  of 
Velazquez  the  ultimate  expression  which  he  had  needed  to  evolve 
those  most  delicate  portraits  in  grey  which  he  at  that  time  was 
creatin»-,  so  he  found  in  this  later  date,  in  the  works  of  another 
artist  but  little  appreciated  in  those  years,  El  Greco,  the  spiritual 
expression,  the  life,  the  soul,  with  which  he  sought  to  endow  his 
later  creations. 

Let  us  recall  to  our  thoughts,  in  the  picture  already  mentioned 
of  “La  Comunión  de  San  José  de  Calasanz,”  the  general  tone,  the 
whole  effect  of  the  work.  The  whites,  so  typical  of  Greco — those 
cold  silvery  whites  which  never  arc  really  white,  and  yet  have  never 
been  excelled  by  any  artist  in  giving  the  sensation  of  white — we 
now  discover  in  the  work  of  Goya.  The  relation  of  the  two 
tones — one  leaden  grey,  the  other  old  gold — of  the  chasuble  of 
the  priest,  the  red  of  the  cushion  seem  to  have  been  drawn  out 
of  the  works  of  Greco  and  produced  with  the  same  palette;  and, 
above  all,  the  spiritual  quality  of  those  faces,  and  the  dominant 
idea  of  the  work  surprise  us  in  Goya,  and  lead  us  to  search  for  the 
influence  which  has  been  at  work.  To  my  mind  it  is  clearly  what 
I  have  said.  Goya  knew  the  works  of  Greco,  for  he  had  been  in 
Toledo  years  before;  but  this  was  when  his  art,  then  of  a  com¬ 
pletely  different  order,  required  in  no  way  the  qualities  which 


JOSÉ  L.  MUNÁRRIZ 


Plate  LIV 


(p.  169) 


.  rvV  -: '  víüí'J  "'n 


'■  '^'  ’w-YveriiR- 


-  W. 


■1 

¡:í 


■.a  [ 


m 


.'if 


-ü  f 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


169 


dominate  the  works  of  Theotocópuli.  The  painter  returned  to 
Toledo  at  this  time,  perhaps  on  his  way  to  Seville,  and  I  believe 
that — even  when  it  is  only  a  supposition — it  is  not  rash  to  think 
that  in  those  years  he  had  seen  in  the  works  of  Greco  something 
which  he  knew  how  to  reflect  later  in  other  works  of  his  own, 
especially  in  that  one  of  which  we  are  now  treating^ 

Let  us  trace  this  influence  in  Goya’s  work  as  a  portrait  painter. 
Better  than  in  any  other  of  his  works  of  this  kind  do  I  consider 
that  it  maybe  noticed  in  the  portrait  in  half  length  of  the  instructor, 
D.  José  Luis  Munárriz  (Plate  52),  preserved  in  the  Royal  Academy 
of  San  Fernando.  The  sitter — seated  at  a  table,  on  which  he  rests 
his  left  arm,  the  hand  holding  between  its  fingers  a  half-opened 
book — seen  almost  front  view,  wears  a  kind  of  cape  with  a  high 
collar,  showing  the  neckcloth  and  a  frilled  shirt;  the  books  in 
the  background,  without  doubt  the  favourite  works  of  Munárriz, 

^  Goya  had  seen,  as  we  have  said,  the  works  of  Greco  in  Toledo,  where  at  that 
time  were  almost  all  the  canvases  of  that  master.  In  two  moments  of  his  life  we 
notice  this  influence,  in  the  first  more  isolated  instance  in  the  year  1780,  as  we  have 
already  indicated  earlier  in  this  book,  the  other  in  a  more  clearly  marked,  and  above 
all  in  a  more  systematic  manner,  in  this  period.  Do  these  coincide  with  the  two  visits 
to  Toledo?  Probably  they  do.  Of  the  relations  of  Goya  with  the  imperial  city  in  the 
way  of  commissions,  etc.,  which  he  received  from  it  we  have  already  spoken  in  this 
work  and  more  than  once  in  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras.”  I  would  only  point 
out  here  that  the  portraits  of  the  Archbishops  Cardinal  Lorenzana  and  Cardinal  de 
Borbón,  which  appear  in  the  Sala  Capitular  of  Toledo  Cathedral,  are  not  in  my  opinion 
original  works  of  Goya.  I  should  not  mention  them  otherwise  here,  as  I  did  not  in  the 
first  edition  of  this  work,  but  as  some  one  of  great  and  deserved  authority  might 
regard  this  omission  as  an  oversight,  I  clear  this  point  by  saying  that  it  was  not  by 
forgetfulness  or  error.  In  my  opinion  these  two  portraits  do  not  seem  in  any  way  by 
Goya,  neither  do  I  believe,  at  least  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  that  there  are 
documents  which  go  to  prove  that  attribution.  I  only  know,  thanks  to  the  kindness 
of  the  very  learned  Dean  of  the  Cathedral,  D.  Narciso  Estenaga,  that  the  portrait 
of  Cardinal  Lorenzana,  which  the  Chapter  placed  in  Madrid  on  the  death  of  the 
Cardinal,  did  not  please  the  Canons,  and  then  another  was  ordered  which  is  the 
present  one.  Was,  then,  the  rejected  one  by  Goya?  The  present  one  and  that  of 
Cardinal  de  Borbón  seem  to  me  by  the  same  hand,  but  in  neither  case  by  that  of 
Goya,  which,  even  though  varying  and  unequal,  was  never  vulgar,  as  is  shown  in  these 
two  canvases. 


Z 


FRANXISCO  GOYA  V  LUCIENTES 


170 

are  the  works  of  Horace,  Virgil,  Camoens,  Quintilian,  Boileau, 
Petrarch,  with  “El  Quijote”  and  “The  Spectator.”  In  this  painting, 
one  of  the  strongest  portraits  by  its  creator,  may  be  noticed  not  so 
much  an  inspiration  as  a  haunting  memory  of  the  portraits  of 
Greco,  so  full  of  life,  so  spiritual  and  so  unique  in  their  colour: 
but  though  seen,  remembered,  and  carried  out  throughout  with 
delicacy  of  perception  and  supreme  knowledge,  the  work  is  by 
Goya. 

The  life  reflected  in  the  eyes,  the  expressive  mouth,  the  fine¬ 
ness  of  the  hair,  the  violet  tones  which  appear  in  the  shadows, 
all  seem  to  have  been  drawn  from  the  heads  of  Greco;  and  the 
same  is  the  case  with  the  hand — so  well  constructed,  although 
but  slightly  drawn,  in  its  lights  and  shadows,  and  so  true  in  its 
colour.  This  subordination  of  all  artistic  qualities  to  the  attainment 
of  expression  will  now  characterize  the  works  of  Goya  from  this 
epoch  up  to  the  very  end  of  his  life.  This  portrait  of  Munárriz 
is  dated  and  signed  “  D.  José  Munárriz.  Pk  Goya  1818.”  It  has 
always  been  assigned  to  this  year,  as  was  stated  in  writing  by 
Sr.  Sentenach,  and  as  I  believe  also,  judging  from  his  style  of  this 
period,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  painter.  However,  on 
examining  anew  this  signature  and  date,  I  seem  to  read  in  the  last 
numeral  a  “  5  ”  rather  than  an  “  8.”  In  any  case  this  difference  of 
three  years  would  not  eftect  in  its  general  lines  the  evolution  we 
have  observed  at  this  period  in  the  production  of  the  artist,  which 
I  consider  clearly  established. 

Goya,  a  man  open  until  his  last  years  to  every  kind  of  im¬ 
pression  and  influence,  and  one  who  went  in  search  of  the  elements 
of  expression  which  were  most  appropriate  and  most  in  harmony 
with  what  his  art  needed  in  every  moment  of  its  pictorial  develop¬ 
ment,  never  was  an  imitator.  His  originality  quickly  asserted  itself, 
and  gave  as  its  result  that  personal  art  which,  although  having  its 
origin  in  elements  strange  to  itself,  yet  became  quickly  individual 
and  Goyesque. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


171 

There  recurred  in  these  years  a  similar  process  to  that  of  his 
youth.  As  then  he  found  in  the  works  of  Velazquez  elements 
of  expression  which  he  assimilated,  to  make  of  them  later  an  art  of 
his  own,  without  our  being  in  any  way  able  to  say  that  he  imitated 
Velazquez,  so  now  he  saw  in  the  style  and  peculiar  technique  of 
Greco  elements  from  which  he  drew,  to  create  later  this  art  of 
these  last  years  of  his  life,  more  spiritual  than  that  which  had 
gone  before,  more  secure,  more  expressive;  an  art  in  which  the 
material  part  and  its  mastery  yield  no  small  place  to  sensibility, 
and  in  which  may  be  noted  a  determination  to  penetrate  into  the 
depth,  into  the  inner  life  of  his  sitters,  to  obtain  a  new  sensation 
of  art,  though  frequently  at  the  cost  of  shortcomings  of  form  and 
lessened  brilliancy  of  colour. 

To  the  grey  notes  of  the  first  manifestation  of  himself,  already 
definite  and  personal,  had  followed  his  works  of  the  richest  colour, 
so  audacious  and  so  varied  in  their  treatment.  Then  can  be  defined 
this  third  manifestation,  as  that  in  which  black  and  white  seem  to 
dominate,  no  less  apparently,  in  the  colour  of  his  works ;  but  ex¬ 
amined  with  care  there  become  evident  most  varied  colours,  count¬ 
less  hues,  all  in  little  brush  strokes,  separated,  not  forming  even 
planes  of  colour  and  as  if  dominated  by  the  white  and  black  which, 
like  those  of  Greco,  appear  to  us  as  such— although  they  are  not 
really  so,  since  neither  white  nor  pure  black  are  ever  found  in  nature, 
nor  have  been  reproduced  by  any  painter  of  observation  or  colour 
sense. 

The  precise  moment  of  direct  relation  between  Goya  and  the 
art  of  Greco  is  marked  by  the  two  works  above  mentioned,  “  La 
Comunión  de  San  José  de  Calasanz  ”  and  the  portrait  of  Munárriz. 
What  our  painter  had  learned  from  Greco  is  shown  in  the  works 
which  he  produced  from  those  years  up  to  his  death;  but  not,  how¬ 
ever,  in  such  a  definite  manner  as  in  these  two  paintings,  which 
are  without  doubt  those  which  fix  the  moment  of  that  influence, 
and  are  a  culminating  point  in  the  evolution  of  the  art  of  Goya. 


172 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


\'arious  portraits  of  great  importance  in  these  years  are  known 
to  us.  One  of  them  is  that  of  the  architect,  D.  Tiburcio  Pérez 
(Plate  52),  a  great  friend  of  Goya,  whom  the  painter  has  portrayed 
in  his  shirt  sleeves  with  his  arms  folded,  thus  creating  a  work  of 
unsurpassed  force  and  realism.  This  is  preserved  to-day  in  the 
Havemeyer  collection  in  New  York.  With  it  also  left  Spain — but 
afterwards  took  a  different  course — the  portrait  of  another  architect, 
D.  Juan  Antonio  Cuervo,  dressed  in  uniform  and  working  on  some 
plans. 

The  artist  suffered  from  a  serious  illness  at  the  end  of  the 
year  1819.  He  recovered  from  it,  thanks  to  the  skill  and  attention 
of  his  doctor  and  personal  friend.  Doctor  Arrieta.  The  painter 
wished  to  repay  with  a  kind  of  votive  painting  the  loving  assistance 
of  this  doctor.  He  depicted  himself  in  a  very  grave  condition,  with 
his  eyes  closed,  in  the  arms  of  Arrieta,  who,  with  an  anxious  ex¬ 
pression,  w  as  making  him  drink  a  potion,  while  he,  with  his  hands 
clenched,  is  clutching  at  the  sheets.  Some  figures,  apparently 
monks,  in  half  light  in  the  background,  characterize  the  gravity  of 
the  situation. 

This  work  was  exhibited  in  the  Academia  de  San  Fernando, 
and  we  are  told  that  “it  attracted  the  attention  of  all  by  the  likeness 
and  expression  of  both  persons,  by  the  spontaneous  character  of 
the  brushwork,  and  by  the  effect  of  the  dimly-lighted  scene,  without 
any  great  parade  of  chiaroscuro.”  It  is  known  at  the  same  time 
that  almost  the  only  pupil  of  Goya  at  that  time,  Juliá,  made  two 
copies  of  it  in  Goya’s  own  studio.  WY  do  not  know  where  the 
original  now  is.  One  of  the  two  copies  by  Juliá,  which,  besides 
its  artistic  merit,  has  the  interest  of  bringing  to  our  knowledge  this 
curious  composition,  is  preserved  in  the  possession  of  the  heirs  of 
D.  Lorenzo  Moret  y  Remisa  (Madrid).  An  inscription  upon  the 
lower  part,  where  even  the  writing  of  Goya  has  been  faithfully 
copied,  says: 

“  Goya,  in  gratitude  to  his  friend  Arrieta  for  the  cleverness 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


173 


and  efficiency  with  which  he  saved  his  life  in  his  sharp  and  dan¬ 
gerous  illness  suffered  at  the  end  of  the  year  1819  in  the  seventy- 
third  year  of  his  age.  He  painted  this  in  1820.” 

There  is  also  another  replica  of  this  painting  which  I  do  not 
know,  preserved  in  the  province  of  Guipúzcoa.  Perhaps  this  may 
be  the  other  copy  Juliá  made.  As  I  have  said  already  in  speaking 
of  the  self-portrait  of  Goya  made  in  the  year  1815,  the  one  which, 
according  to  some  people,  passed  by  mistake  as  the  study  for  the 
head  of  this  painting,  so  I  hold  that  this  portrait  has  nothing  in 
common  with  the  figure  of  the  painter  just  described ;  even 
though  not  more  than  five  years  had  passed,  the  appearance  of 
Goya  had  totally  changed.  He  comes  before  us  here  as  already 
an  old  invalid  with  wrinkled  skin  and  white  hair. 

Having  recovered  from  his  illness,  the  painter  went  on  working, 
and  from  this  year  1820  until  1824  we  know  of  some  portraits  of 
the  greatest  importance.  We  may  take  as  an  example  of  them 
D.  Ramón  Satue  (Plate  54),  in  the  collection  of  Doctor  Carvallo, 
Tours  (France).  This  figure,  standing  upright,  shown  three- 
quarter  length,  appears  wearing  a  plain  black  costume,  a  red 
waistcoat,  and  a  white  frilled  shirt,  with  his  hands  in  the  pockets 
of  his  trousers  and  seen  against  a  plain  grey  background.  The 
head,  delicate  and  brilliant,  has  been  carefully  studied,  the  rest 
treated  lightly  but  very  well  in  the  way  that  the  relation  of  values 
are  kept  together.  The  state  of  preservation  of  this  work  is  ex¬ 
cellent.  In  the  background  on  the  left  and  lower  part,  an  inscription 
tells  us:  “Don  Ramón  Satue,  alcalde  de  Corte.  Pr.  Goya. 
1823.” 

Signed  and  dated  in  1824,  there  is  another  portrait  of  very 
great  interest,  that  of  Doña  Maria  Martinez  de  Puga.  She  is 
shown  standing  upright  in  three-quarter  length,  with  a  simple 
black  dress,  white  gloves,  a  shawl,  and  a  fan;  a  watch  placed  in  her 
waistband  is  held  by  a  chain  which  is  round  her  bare  neck.  This 
lady  of  the  middle  class  belonged  to  a  family  on  friendly  terms 


174 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


with  the  painter.  The  work  being  very  typical  of  those  years,  one 
of  those  works  which  undoubtedly  impressed  Manet  so  much  by 
its  simplicity  and  clear  vision  of  the  human  figure,  belongs  to-day 
to  the  Knoedler  Galleries  (New  York,  London,  and  Paris).  Even 
though  it  is  only  a  drawing  there  should  be  mentioned,  in  this 
place,  the  interesting  portrait  which  Goya  made  of  his  son,  to-day 
in  the  possession  of  that  intelligent  collector,  D.  Eéli.x:  Boix. 
This  is  signed  and  dated  in  1824. 

There  exists  a  magnificent  work  by  Goya  in  the  Museum  of 
Castres  (France),  which  can  find  a  place  in  our  enumeration  of 
Goya’s  portraits  through  its  being  a  gathering,  a  group  of  persons 
assembled  together.  It  has  passed  unnoticed,  and  been  given  but 
little  attention  by  almost  all  the  critics  who  have  written  about 
Goya.  M.  Lafond  alone,  who  has  occupied  himself  so  much  with 
Spanish  art,  has  acknowledged  the  remarkable  interest  of  this  work, 
and  attributed  it,  I  believe  correctly,  to  this  period. 

We  have  here  before  us  a  large  canvas  (4.30  m.  wide  by 
3.18  m.  high)  whereon  is  depicted  a  reception  room,  seen  immedi¬ 
ately  before  us  and  lighted  from  left  to  right.  The  perspective  here 
recalls  to  some  extent  that  of  the  famous  canvas  of  Velazquez, 
“Las  Hilanderas”;  the  reflection  of  the  sunlight,  somewhat  golden 
in  hue,  is  thrown  across  the  red  pavement  covering  this  part  of 
the  composition,  the  rest  of  the  painting  being  more  grey  and  the 
half-lights  very  pronounced.  The  background  of  this  interior  is 
filled  by  a  large  table  at  which  twelve  persons  are  seated,  dressed 
in  different  uniforms,  some  of  them  in  the  garb  of  priests,  and 
presided  over  by  an  officer  in  whom  I  seem  to  recognize  Ferdi¬ 
nand  Vn.  In  the  foreground,  to  right  and  left,  are  seen  many 
figures,  a  whole  crowd,  very  excited,  and  among  whom  may  be 
remarked  a  general  agitation.  They  are  seated  on  chairs  in  diíTerent 
positions,  some  of  these  far  from  correct  or  ceremonious;  some 
with  their  legs  crossed  or  stretched  out,  their  arms  behind  their 
backs;  others  with  their  hands  in  their  pockets;  some  talking  to 


TIBURCIO  PÉREZ 


Plate  LV 


(p.  172) 


^FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES  175 

their  neighbours,  others  looking  in  a  bored  way  at  the  floor  or  the 
ceiling.  They  wear,  moreover,  strange  and  different  costumes, 
some  even  in  old-fashioned  style,  with  wigs,  others  in  modern 
dress,  beside  monks  and  country  folk. 

What  I  am  absolutely  ignorant  of  is  what  subject  is  depicted 
in  this  composition.  It  is  a  meeting — but  nothing  more  can  be 
stated.  Is  it  the  Council  of  the  Philippines?  Or  perhaps  a  gathering 
of  the  Five  Greater  Corporations,  as  Von  Loga  thinks,  through 
those  present  being  arranged  in  five  rows?  What  is  certain  is  that 
nothing  at  all  is  known  about  the  commission  of  this  picture  and 
its  first  possessor,  circumstances  which  might  have  revealed  to  us 
its  subject.  The  study  for  this  work  is  preserved  in  the  Berlin 
Museum. 

This  curious  canvas  was  bequeathed  to  the  city  of  Castres  by 
the  son  of  the  painter  Briguiboul,  and,  according  to  M.  Lafond, 
is  the  same  which  appeared  in  Madrid  in  the  possession  of 
D.  Angel  M.  Terradillos.  With  it  were  also  bequeathed  to  the 
city  of  Castres  two  more  portraits  attributed  to  Goya;  one  of  these, 
earlier  than  the  period  of  this  picture,  is  a  replica  with  variations 
of  that  which  appears  at  Bayonne  in  the  Musée  Bonnat,  which  I 
have  already  mentioned,  and  the  other  is  of  an  unknown  gentleman 
of  less  artistic  interest. 

I  believe  that  to  this  period  of  the  artist  should  be  attributed 
the  bust  portrait  of  a  lady  of  somewhat  strange  face  and  expression, 
who,  with  short  hair,  large  ear-rings,  and  covered  with  a  shawl, 
made  her  appearance  in  the  Exhibition  of  Ancient  Spanish  Masters 
held  in  London  at  the  Grafton  Galleries  in  1913-14.  Up  to  that 
time  it  had  been  little  known.  The  delicacy  of  the  tones,  the  greys, 
the  whole  effect  of  this  work,  bring  it  into  relation  with  the  art 
which  Degas  made  so  justly  famous  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  This  picture  figured  in  the  sale  of  the  Collection  Rouart 
in  Paris  in  December  1912,  and  came  thence  into  the  possession 
of  the  late  Sir  Hugh  Lane. 


176 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


It  may  be  noted  that  the  portraits  above  mentioned,  and 
described  in  this  last  period  of  the  artist’s  life,  are  in  almost  every 
case  intimate  portraits  of  simple  people — friends,  without  doubt,  of 
the  painter.  They  are  not  like  those  whom  Goya  had  painted  in 
the  epoch  of  Charles  IV,  princes,  aristocrats,  and  high  personages. 
They  are  not,  however,  for  that  less  interesting  from  the  point  of 
view  of  their  art,  for  the  critic,  for  the  amateur,  or  for  posterity; 
but  in  the  life  of  the  painter  they  had  a  very  different  result  and 
consequence.  Those  portraits  of  former  days  had  been  very 
liberally  remunerated;  these  last  do  not  seem  to  have  other  value 
than  an  offering  of  friendship.  The  notices  which  we  have  of  the 
life  of  Goya  seem  to  confirm  the  consequences  which  may  be 
deduced  from  this  observation  of  mine;  the  painter  in  those  years 
lived  a  very  modest  life,  contrasting  with  his  relatively  brilliant 
life  of  past  years. 

The  journey  of  Goya  to  France  took  place  in  the  year  1824, 
not  in  1822  as  some  have  supposed.  WTat  proves  this  is  that, 
having  only  on  one  occasion  returned  from  France  in  1827,  when 
he  made  a  brief  stay  in  Spain,  and  knowing  works  of  his  as 
dated  in  1824,  these  could  only  have  been  done  before  his  last 
journey.  Moreover,  all  the  references  belonging  to  his  stay  in 
France — and  there  are  not  a  few  of  these — are  of  1824  and  the 
years  following.  The  causes  which  determined  Goya  to  absent 
himself  from  Spain  were  various  and  complex.  It  cannot  be  said 
that  he  left  the  country  only  from  fear  of  the  then  dominant 
reaction,  and  that  he  might  have  been  attacked  for  the  subject  of 
his  engravings.  He  was  Painter  to  the  King,  and  that  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  prevent  anyone  annoying  him;  but,  none  the  less, 
his  life  was  diihcult  in  the  midst  of  the  political  unrest,  of  the 
struggle  for  the  Constitution,  and  the  continual  persecutions  of  one 
party  or  another.  On  the  other  hand  his  friends — those  of  them 
who  were  still  alive — almost  all  of  advanced  ideas,  had  been  in 
some  cases  exiled  and  in  others  had  left  the  country,  the  majority 


RAMÓN  SATUE 


Plate  LVI 


(P-  173) 


■  ‘f 


I 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


177 


of  them  being  outside  the  borders  of  Spain.  His  son  was  married 
and  away  from  him,  and  his  art  in  some  ways  had  gone  out  of 
fashion,  since  new  ideas  and  preferences  had  come  to  take  the 
place  of  those  of  preceding  years.  Thus  there  was  nothing  to  keep 
him  in  his  country,  and  on  the  other  hand  his  curiosity  to  know 
France,  which  had  been  shown  years  before,  was  even  more 
powerful  than  ever. 

The  motive — perhaps  the  pretext — for  this  expatriation  of 
himself  was  the  state  of  his  health. 

On  13  May  1824  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  six  months 
to  go  to  take  the  mineral  waters  of  Plombiéres.  It  seems  to  be  a 
proved  fact  that  all  the  affection  of  the  painter  in  those  years  had 
centred  in  a  relative  of  his,  Leocadia,  the  widow  of  a  merchant  of 
German  origin  called  Isidro  Weiss,  and  her  daughter,  Rosario,  a 
child  of  ten  years  of  age,  who  showed  for  art  an  enthusiasm  and 
aptitude  of  such  precocious  nature  as  might  seem  to  have  been 
born  in  her  and  inherited,  and  for  whom  Goya  displayed  a  truly 
paternal  affection. 

The  painter  left  Madrid  for  Paris  in  the  month  of  June.  He 
stopped  on  the  way  at  Bordeaux,  where  there  was  a  numerous 
Spanish  colony  which  included  not  a  few  friends  of  Goya,  among 
them  Moratin,  who  in  his  letters  to  another  of  his  friends,  D.  Juan 
Antonio  Melon, ^  speaks  on  various  occasions  of  Goya.  I  will  give 
here  the  sentences  where  he  gives  an  account  of  the  painter.  Moratin 
writes  from  Bordeaux  with  the  date  of  27  June: 

“  Goya  actually  arrived,  deaf,  old,  stupid  and  feeble,  and 
without  knowing  a  word  of  French,  and  without  bringing  a  servant 
(and  no  one  needs  one  more  than  he  does),  and  with  all  this  so 
pleased  and  so  desirous  of  seeing  everthing.  He  was  here  for  three 
days;  two  of  them  he  dined  with  us  in  the  character  of  a  young 

*  These  letters  are  published  in  “The  Posthumous  Works  of  D.  Leandro  Fernández 
de  Moratin,”  Madrid,  1868.  Those  in  which  Goya  is  mentioned  will  be  found  in  the 
third  volume  of  the  aforesaid  work. 


178 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


student;  I  have  begged  him  to  return  in  September,  and  not  to 
loiter  in  Paris  and  allow  himself  to  be  caught  by  the  winter  which 
would  be  the  end  of  him.  He  takes  a  letter  so  that  Arnao  should 
see  where  to  settle  him,  and  to  take  all  the  precautions  necessary  for 
him,  which  are  many,  and  the  principal  of  which,  in  my  opinion, 
is  that  he  should  not  go  out  except  in  a  carriage;  but  I  do  not 
know  if  he  will  agree  to  these  conditions.  We  shall  see  later 
whether  this  journey  will  leave  him  alive.  I  should  be  very  sorry 
if  any  misfortune  should  happen  to  him.” 

The  painter  continued  his  journey,  and  on  8  July  Moratin 
relates  to  Melon  the  arrival  of  Goya  in  Paris,  still  coming  from 
Bordeaux,  in  the  following  manner: 

“  Goya  arrived  in  Paris  in  good  health.  Arnao,  by  reason  of  a 
letter  which  I  gave  Goya  for  him,  engaged  himself  to  look  after 
him  and  to  advise  him  in  all  that  he  could,  and  from  the  first  he 
settled  him  with  a  cousin  of  his  daughter-in-law’s  relations.  He 
proposes  to  continue  his  good  ofiices  in  favour  of  the  young  traveller, 
and  has  given  consent  to  send  him  back  here  by  the  month  of 
September.” 

What  especially  interests  us  is  to  remember  that  in  these 
months  of  his  stay  in  Paris  he  made  two  very  fine  portraits;  that 
of  D.  Joaquin  Maria  Ferrer,  a  person  who  was  later,  in  1841, 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  in  Spain,  and  that  of  Doña 
Manuela  de  Alvarez  Coi  ñas  y  Thomas  de  Perrer.  Both  these 
appeared  in  the  exhibition  of  Goya’s  works  in  1900,  the  first 
belonging  to  the  Conde  de  Caudilla  and  the  second  to  the  Marqués 
de  Baroja.  They  are  signed  and  dated;  “Goya.  Paris,  1824”  and 
“Goya  1824,”  respectively. 

These  two  portraits  are  of  very  special  interest  for  those 
striking  and  exceptional  qualities  of  simplicity,  true  reflection  of 
life,  and  even  life  itself  which  we  value  in  the  art  of  Goya  in  these 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


179 

last  years.  But  if  some  famous  French  artists  of  that  time  in  Paris 
had  seen  these  portraits,  how  they  would  have  caught  their  atten¬ 
tion,  and  how  strange  they  would  have  seemed  to  them !  For  they 
have  no  connection  with  the  art  in  vogue  at  the  date  when  they 
were  painted,  the  school  of  which,  as  the  art  of  David  had  declined, 
the  most  famous  artists  were  Gros,  Prud’hon,  Géricault,  Ingres, 
and  the  young  Delacroix. 

Nevertheless,  the  sincerity  of  those  works,  their  tonality,  the 
art  which  they  reflect,  were  going  to  become  a  fountain  of  inspira¬ 
tion  years  later  to  the  school  which  certain  rebellious  and 
innovating  painters  were  to  develop  in  Paris,  whence  it  attained 
world-wide  renown. 

I  do  not  know  any  other  works  of  importance  made  by  Goya 
in  the  French  capital.  He  made,  it  is  true,  drawings,  records  of 
what  he  saw  and  what  impressed  him,  more  or  less  creations  of 
his  fancy.  Other  drawings  are  of  a  realistic  character,  as,  for 
instance,  a  little  self-portrait  made  with  the  pen,  where  he  repre¬ 
sents  himself  in  profile,  with  a  cap  with  a  large  peak  in  the  French 
style.  This  drawing,  published  by  Araujo  in  front  of  his  “  Goya,” 
is  in  the  possession  of  the  Marques  de  Seoane,  a  descendant  of 
D.  Joaquin  Maria  Ferrer. 

Goya  returned  to  Bordeaux  at  the  time  fixed,  as  Moratin  lets 
us  know  by  his  letters,  this  time  with  the  date  of  20  September: 

“  Goya  is  already  here  with  the  lady  and  the  children  in  a  well 
furnished  apartment  in  a  good  locality.  I  think  he  will  be  able  to 
spend  the  winter  there  very  comfortably.  He  wishes  to  paint  my 
portrait  and  from  this  I  infer  how  charming  I  must  be,  since  such 
able  paint-brushes  aspire  to  multiply  my  original  self.” 

The  widow  of  Weiss  and  her  daughter  Rosario  accompanied 
Goya  from  these  months  onwards,  since  Moratin  says  on 
23  October: 


i8o 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


“Goya  is  here  still  with  his  Doña  Leocadia;  I  do  not  notice 
in  them  the  greatest  harmony.” 

The  painter  asked  for  an  extension  of  six  months  to  the  leave 
of  absence  which  he  had  already  made  use  of,  and  that  was  granted 
him  with  the  date  of  13  January  1825,  still  under  the  pretext  of  ill 
health  and  that  he  wished  this  time  to  take  the  waters  of  Bagneres. 
In  April  of  this  year  Moratin  says; 

“  Goya  with  his  seventy-nine  birthdays  and  his  continual 
grumblings  neither  knows  what  he  expects  nor  what  he  wishes;  I 
entreat  him  to  remain  quiet  until  the  end  of  his  holiday.  He  likes  the 
city  [this  is  still  Bordeaux]  the  country,  the  climate,  the  food,  the 
independence,  the  tranquillity  he  enjoys.  Since  he  has  been  here  he 
has  not  had  any  of  the  complaints  which  troubled  him  before;  and 
nevertheless  at  times  he  gets  it  into  his  head  that  he  has  a  good 
deal  to  do  in  Madrid;  and  if  he  were  allowed  he  would  set  on  his 
way  back  mounted  on  a  vicious  mule  with  his  cloth  cap,  his  cloak, 
his  walnut  wood  stirrups,  his  leather  bottle  and  his  saddle  bags.” 

However,  his  desire  to  visit  Madrid  must  have  passed  away 
quickly,  for  there  are  other  notices  by  which  we  can  see  that  he 
became  acclimatized  and  was  content  to  remain  in  Bordeaux.  On 
the  other  hand,  what  made  life  agreeable  to  him  were  the  many 
and  good  Spanish  friends  who  had  left  their  country  and  whom  he 
encountered  there,  such  as  Moratin  himself,  Silvela,  Goicoechea, 
Muguiro,  the  marine  painter  Antonio  Brugada,  and  some  French¬ 
men  like  M.  Cxalos.  He,  on  his  side,  showed  himself  sympathetic 
and  aftectionate,  and  the  people  there  were  pleased  to  have  him 
amongst  them,  and  recognized  him  when  he  passed  with  his  great 
coat,  his  hat  ii  la  Bolivar,  and  his  large  white  cravat.  He  came  well 
through  the  first  winter,  and  Moratin  wrote  on  28  June  1825: 

“Goya  escaped  this  time  from  greedy  Acheron;  he  is  very 


JACQUES  GALOS 


Plate  LVII 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


i8i 


saucy,  and  paints  for  dear  life,  without  ever  correcting  a  single 
thing  which  he  paints.” 

The  most  important  works  which  he  painted  in  these  years 
were  portraits;  more  precisely  the  portraits  of  his  friends.  From 
that  time  date  the  two  very  excellent  ones  of  Moratin  and  of 
D.  Manuel  Silvela,  respectively,  which  are  to-day  in  the  possession 
of  the  widow  of  D.  Francisco  Silvela,  Marquesa  de  Silvela 
(Madrid).  They  appeared  in  1900  in  the  Exhibition  of  the  Works 
of  Goya,  but  at  that  time  there  was  a  mistake  about  the  persons 
represented;  for  he  who  appears  in  half  length  with  a  letter,  on 
which  the  signature  of  the  painter  can  be  read,  and  who  passed 
for  De  Silvela,  is  really  Moratin,  while  the  other,  without  a  signa¬ 
ture  and  supposed  to  be  Moratin,  is  that  of  De  Silvela.  The 
artistic  interest  of  these  works  is  on  a  level  with  their  importance 
as  likenesses.  This  D.  Manuel  Silvela,  famous  in  himself  and 
ancestor  of  a  family  which  shone  with  such  brilliancy  in  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century,  kept  at  that  time  a  school  at  Bordeaux.  Moratin  lived 
with  him,  and  this  fact  explains  the  joke  which  appears  in  the 
first  of  the  letters  above  quoted,  when  he  says  of  Goya  that  he 
dined  for  the  two  days  with  them  “  in  the  position  of  a  young 
student.” 

Moratin  continues  on  other  occasions  to  speak  of  the  painter, 
and  writes  in  October  1825: 

“  Goya  says  he  has  been  a  bull-fighter  in  his  time,  and  that 
with  the  sword  in  his  hand  he  fears  no  one.  In  two  months  time  he 
will  complete  his  eightieth  year.” 

And  a  little  later: 

“  Goya  has  taken  a  very  convenient  little  house  with  windows 
looking  north  and  south,  and  with  a  little  strip  of  garden;  a 
detached  and  quite  new  little  house,  where  he  finds  himself  very 
comfortable.  Doña  Leocadia,  with  her  accustomed  intrepidity, 
grumbles  at  times,  and  at  others  enjoys  herself.  La  Mariquita 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


182 

(the  name  by  which  he  designates  Maria  del  Rosario  Weiss)  speaks 
French  already  like  a  wood  lark,  sews  and  skips  and  amuses  her¬ 
self  with  some  native  children  of  her  own  age.” 

The  best,  perhaps,  of  the  portraits  painted  by  Goya  at  this  date 
is  that  of  the  Frenchman,  Jacc[ues  Galos  (Plate  55).  It  is  known 
that  this  person  was  a  great  friend  of  Goya.  He  was  a  man  of 
business  who  advised  the  painter  on  economic  subjects.  This 
portrait  is  only  a  head  and  shoulders,  with  an  energetic  and 
intelligent  face  crowned  with  grey  hair.  His  dress  is  dark,  and  in 
the  background  on  the  right  we  read;  “  D.  Santiago  Galos  pintado 
por  Goya  de  edad  de  80  anos  en  1826.”  This  marvellous  portrait, 
marvellous  for  its  own  fine  quality  and  as  much  or  even  more  so 
for  being  the  work  of  an  octogenarian,  belongs  to  the  Condesa 
d’l  loudetot. 

Curious  through  its  peculiar  technique — we  might  almost  say 
executed  in  masses,  which  seems  to  show  a  method  of  sculpture 
adapted  to  painting — is  the  bust  portrait  supposed  to  be  of  a  young 
lady  of  the  Silvela  family,  belonging  to  the  Marqués  de  la  Vega 
Inclán.  The  expression  of  the  features,  the  search  for  its  character¬ 
istic  traits,  and  the  general  intonation,  very  fine  in  its  character, 
of  this  work  give  it  a  value  for  us  and  a  special  charm. 

Other  portraits  painted  in  Pordeauxare  also  mentioned  whose 
present  resting-place  has  been  lost.  He  made  at  the  same  time 
figures  like  the  admirable  “  Milkmaid,”  |)reserved  in  the  possession 
of  the  Conde  de  Alto  Parcilés  (Madrid),  and  drawings  and 
engravings  of  very  great  interest,  and  various  miniatures,  of  which 
some  are  known  to-day.  These  works  and  his  gossip  and  daily 
discussions  with  the  Spaniards  residing  there — who  used  to  come 
together  in  the  house  of  Braulio  Poc,  an  Aragonese  who  had 
installed  a  cJiocoIatcria  in  the  Rue  de  la  Petite-Taupe — with  the 
care  and  supervision  of  the  artistic  education  of  Rosario  Weiss, 
filled  the  life  of  the  old  exile  in  those  days  at  Bordeaux.  The 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


183 

artistic  abilities  of  the  child  were  constantly  in  Goya’s  mind. 
Rosario  took  part  in  the  drawing  classes  which  were  given  in  his 
studio  by  the  Bordelais  painter,  Antoine  Lacour,  a  disciple  of 
David.  We  are  told  that  when  Goya  went  to  visit  this  studio  of 
Lacour,  as  he  passed  before  the  easels  of  the  pupils,  he  kept 
muttering,  “  That  is  not  it!  That  is  not  it!  ”  And  this  was  natural, 
because  the  outlook  in  art  and  the  practice  and  school  of  a  French 
artist  of  those  years  and  his  own,  so  individual,  so  personal  to 
himself,  were  totally  opposed.  Later,  Goya  aspired  to  send  Rosario 
to  Paris,  and  wrote  with  this  purpose  to  FerrerF 

“This  famous  creature  wishes  to  learn  to  paint  miniatures, 
and  I  also  should  like  it  because  it  would  be  the  greatest  phenomenon 
in  the  whole  world  for  anyone  of  her  age  to  do  this.  .  . 

In  other  sentences  he  lets  us  know  his  condition  of  mind: 

“You  should  appreciate  very  much  these  badly  written  letters 
for  I  have  neither  sight  nor  pulse,  nor  pen,  nor  ink  bottle,  every¬ 
thing  is  wanting  to  me  and  only  the  will  remains.  From  month 
to  month  I  take  up  my  pen  to  write  to  Paco  who  is  the  only  one  I 
have  written  to  in  Spain.” 

The  painter  desired  to  return  to  Spain,  even  although  he 
proposed  to  come  back  later  to  Bordeaux,  since  he  left  his  house 
installed  there.  Moratin  says  to  Melon,  under  the  date  of  17  Mav 
1826,  speaking  of  the  news  which  he  had  of  his  friends  of  Bordeaux : 

“  One  is  the  journey  of  Goya,  which  will  be  accomplished  in 
three  or  four  days  time,  arranged  as  he  always  settles  his  journeys; 
he  goes  alone  and  not  well  pleased  with  the  French.  If  he  has  the 
good  fortune  to  have  no  pain  during  the  journey  he  can  be 

'  I  do  not  publish  the  letter  in  which  these  sentences  are  included  nor  others  of 
these  years,  as  they  lack  any  special  interest.  They  would  be  included  in  a  biography 
of  Goya,  which  I  have  not  proposed  to  make  on  this  occasion.  Moreover,  these  letters 
are  already  known  by  the  preceding  publications. 


184 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


congratulated  when  he  arrives;  and  if  he  does  not  arrive  do  not  be 
surprised,  because  the  slightest  discomfort  may  leave  him  lying 
stiff  in  the  corner  of  an  inn.” 

However,  the  veteran  artist  arrived  at  Madrid.  He  was  well 
received  by  all.  His  art  was  esteemed,  and  his  character  and 
temperament  were  beginning  to  be  widely  appreciated.  At  the 
court  he  received  his  annual  salary,  and  at  the  king’s  suggestion 
his  portrait  was  made  by  the  then  Court  Painter,  who  was  Vicente 
López.  This  portrait  is  that  which  is  so  well  known  and  preserved 
in  the  Museo  del  Prado  (No.  864).  It  deserves  the  fame  it  has, 
since  López  left  to  posterity  in  his  beautiful  work  a  faithful  image 
of  the  Goya  of  this  last  period,  in  whose  expressive  features,  with 
their  penetrating  glance  and  magnificent  brow,  the  least  observant 
will  find  the  striking  likeness  with  another  genius  of  that  time. 
P2ven  though  there  was  no  direct  relation  existing  between  them, 
their  features,  their  temperament,  their  force  of  will,  even  the  fact 
of  their  both  being  deaf  in  their  old  age,  connects  them  together: 
it  seems  indeed  as  if  Fate  had  created  these  twin  souls  in  that 
epoch  of  transformation  in  art  and  every  side  of  life — in  which 
they  come  forward,  as  if  summing  up  within  themselves  the  past — 
and  of  the  beginning  of  new  developments  in  two  nations  remote 
and  very  different,  but  which,  in  that  moment  and  thanks  to  them, 
represented  respectively  the  supremacy  of  painting  and  the 
supremacy  of  music. 

The  portrait  by  López  pleased  Goya  beyond  measure.  It  is 
one  of  the  finest  examples  of  that  famous  portrait  painter;  less 
highly  finished,  less  carried  forward,  detailed,  than  other  works  of 
López,  and  this — as  the  story  goes — very  likely  at  Goya’s  own 
suggestion.  He  wished  in  fair  return  to  make  the  portrait  of  López, 
but  when  he  took  up  the  brushes  his  cold  and  trembling  hand  no 
longer  obeyed  him. 

The  physical  decline  of  Goya  passed  quickly  away,  mastered 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


185 

by  his  still  vigorous  constitution,  and  he  now  traversed  the  city  on 
the  arm  of  his  son.  He  was  more  than  once  in  what  had  been  his 
own  house,  at  the  Quinta  del  Sordo,  where  he  took  delight  in 
seeing  those  walls  which  he  had  decorated  in  the  tragic  moments 
of  the  war,  and  which  the  French  critic,  M.  Lafond,  describes  as 
frenzied,  in  speaking  at  length  on  this  point  and  others  of  these 
last  years  of  Goya.  He  visited  also  others  of  his  canvases  scattered 
here  and  there,  and  went  down  to  the  Chapel  of  San  Antonio  de  la 
Florida,  whose  decoration  was  his  favourite  work  and  one  which 
brought  back  to  his  memory  the  days  of  his  good  fortune  and 
artistic  triumphs. 

His  stay  in  Madrid  was  not  a  long  one;  he  returned  to 
Bordeaux,  accompanied  this  time  by  his  grandson  Mariano,  who 
was  already  a  man.  On  15  July  of  the  same  year,  1826,  Moratin 
writes  again,  always  from  Bordeaux: 

“  I  have  received  from  the  hand  of  Goya  (who  arrived  quite 
well)  the  pamphlet  you  sent  me  .  .  .  etc.” 

The  last  letter,  in  which  he  speaks  once  more  of  the  painter,  a 
letter  without  date,^  but  certainly  later  than  those  already  men¬ 
tioned,  says: 

“Goya  is  quite  well;  he  amuses  himself  with  his  sketches, 
walks  about,  and  sleeps  during  the  siesta ;  it  seems  to  me  there  is 
now  peace  in  his  home.” 

The  last  important  work  of  Goya,  and  one  which  seems  like 
his  artistic  testament,  is  a  portrait,  that  of  his  friend  Muguiro, 
to-day  in  the  hands  of  the  Conde  de  Muguiro  (Madrid),  a  descendant 
of  the  person  painted  (Plate  56). 

^  In  the  “  Posthumous  Works  of  D.  Leandro  Fernandez  de  Moratin  ”  it  is  supposed 
that  this  letter  is  of  the  year  1828,  and  that  it  was  written  in  Paris.  In  this  there  is 
evidently  a  mistake;  the  letter  would  be  of  1827  or  1828,  but  it  is  written  from 
Bordeaux,  since  Goya  was  not  in  Paris  except  in  the  year  1824. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


i86 


D.  Juan  de  Muguiro  e  Iribarren,  who  was  then  forty-one 
years  of  age,  since  he  had  been  born  in  1786  in  Navarre,  and  who 
afterwards  held  political  appointments  in  Spain,  was  a  banker,  a 
man  of  business.  He  was  at  that  time  a  refugee  at  Bordeaux 
through  his  liberal  ideas.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  Goya,  whom 
he  befriended  more  than  once;  the  fact  of  Goicoechea  being  his 
manager  was  another  bond  of  union  between  Muguiro  and  Goya. 
He  appears  in  his  portrait,  in  three-quarter  length  and  front  view, 
seated,  and  with  a  letter  in  his  right  hand.  He  is  wearing  a  blue 
frock-coat  and  trousers,  very  dark,  almost  black.  His  cravat  is  in 
a  large  bow,  which  was  the  fashion  of  the  time,  as  well  as  to  wear 
the  shirt  front  very  open.  The  figure  is  somewhat  less  than  life- 
size;  a  small  figure,  as  are  almost  all  those  of  the  last  years  of  the 
painter.  I  do  not  pretend  to  explain  the  reason  of  this,  especially 
in  portraits  like  that  of  Muguiro,  of  whom  we  know  he  was  a  man 
of  good  stature. 

The  extraordinary  feature  of  this  work  lies  in  its  vibrating 
technic|ue,  in  its  execution  with  small  strokes  of  the  brush,  more 
exaggerated  even  on  this  occasion  than  in  the  works  already 
mentioned.  In  the  whole  portrait  may  be  noticed  a  certain  pre¬ 
meditated  reserve,  as  if  the  artist  were  wishing  to  do  without  that 
method  of  his  own,  of  which  he  had  such  knowledge,  in  order  to 
reflect  only  the  impression  which  nature  gave  him;  that  is  to  say, 
to  abstract  the  quality  of  the  painting,  and  the  painting  itself  as  far 
as  possible,  and  to  aspire  to  the  spiritualization  of  human  images 
in  order  to  give  us  the  sensation  of  what  these  feel,  speak,  and 
think — in  a  word,  of  their  actual  life. 

This  effort  of  Goya  at  the  period  of  life  which  he  had  now 
reached  is  really  marvellous.  He  would  scarcely  have  thought  that 
that  manner  of  interpreting  nature  would  be  one  of  the  starting- 
points  of  a  school  which  would  fill  fifty  years  of  the  story  of  art 
with  the  names  Naturalism,  Impressionism,  or  whatever  else  it 
might  wish  to  be  called;  and  which,  with  all  its  extravagances  and 


JUAN  DE  MUGUIRO 


Plate  LVIII 


(p.  185) 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


187 

exaggerations,  would  be  none  the  less,  as  a  tendency,  the  only  new 
original  and  interesting  one  which  was  left  to  posterity  by  the 
painters  of  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Ail  those  qualities,  in  fact,  of  truth  and  life,  which  were  such 
an  object  of  pursuit  to  the  painters  who  were  able  to  call  them¬ 
selves  fin  de  siécle,  we  find  in  these  works  of  the  last  period  of 
Goya,  many  years  before  they  appeared  in  any  others. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  portrait  of  Muguiro  was  painted 
with  the  assistance  of  a  powerful  magnifying  glass,  as  has  been 
stated,  a  fact  which  can  be  explained  by  reason  of  the  weak  sight 
which  remained  to  the  octogenarian  painter.  I  only  know  that  it 
reveals  a  supreme  effort,  and  manifests  to  us  a  complete  artistic 
personality.  On  one  occasion  Goya  said  that  Velazquez,  Rembrandt, 
and  Nature  were  his  only  masters.  The  influence  which  may  be 
felt  in  his  art,  produced  above  all  by  his  study  of  the  works  of 
Velazquez,  has  been  one  of  the  points  more  especially  treated  in 
this  book.  With  regard  to  what  Goya  learned  from  Rembrandt,  I 
believe  that  this  must  be  limited  to  his  engravings ;  as  a  painter, 
it  may  be  said  that  he  had  scarcely  known  him.  But  his  true 
mistress,  Nature,  continued  to  inspire  him  up  to  the  last  moment. 
This  fact  is  shown  clearly  in  this  very  work- — this  portrait  which 
represents  a  last  effort  to  advance  still  further,  an  “aun  aprendo,”^ 
when  it  seemed  he  knew  everything.  An  inscription  in  large  letters 
on  the  portrait  of  Muguiro  says:  “  Dn.  Juan  de  Muguiro  por  su 
amigo  Goya  a  los  81  anos,  en  Burdeos,  Mayo  de  1827.”  (Dn.  Juan 
de  Muguiro  by  his  friend  Goya  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years,  in 
Bordeaux,  May  of  1827).  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  comment 
upon  this  reference  of  the  artist  to  his  age. 


^  There  exists  a  drawing  by  Goya  preserved  in  the  Museo  del  Prado  which,  In 
spite  of  its  humorous  character,  contains  a  sublime  lesson.  It  represents  an  old,  a  very 
old  man  with  a  long  beard,  who,  leaning  on  sticks,  advances  with  great  difficulty;  and 
an  inscription  in  Goya’s  hand  says  “  Aun  aprendo.”  Needless  to  say,  this  drawing  is  of 
the  last  period  of  the  artist’s  life, 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


i88 


In  the  last  letters  of  Goya  to  his  son  he  speaks  of  money 
matters.  He  hoped  to  live  ninety-nine  years  like  Titian,  and 
desired  to  bring  together  his  little  fortune  and  to  instruct  his  son 
Javier  of  his  intentions.  Muguiro,  Goicoechea,  and  Galos  were 
his  advisers  and  confidential  friends.  Javier  announced  to  his 
father  his  intention  to  visit  Bordeaux,  and  probably  in  answer  to 
this  Goya  wrote  with  his  own  hand: 

“  Dear  Javier:  I  can  only  tell  you  that  from  the  great  joy  I 
experienced  I  have  become  a  little  indisposed  and  I  am  in  bed. 
God  grant  that  I  may  see  you  coming  to  fetch  them  so  my 
contentment  may  be  complete.  Good-bye, 

“Your  P®  F®°.” 

This  letter  is  to  be  found  among  the  papers  which  belonged 
to  D.  Valentin  Carderera,  and,  to-day  preserved  in  the  Museo  del 
Prado,  has  a  note  at  the  foot  by  Mariano  Goya,  the  grandson  of 
the  painter,  saying:  “The  last  lines  written  by  my  grandfather.” 

On  1 6  April  1828,  a  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  his  son,  Goya 
died  in  Bordeaux,  bequeathing  to  posterity  his  marvellous  creations 
and  to  Spain  his  glorious  name. 


CHAPTER  IX 


Conclusion 


OYA  left  no  school.  The  few  pupils  whom  he  had,  among 


whom  the  most  significant  were  Esteve  and  Juliá,  were 


^  rather  his  collaborators  than  his  pupils.  Of  both  these, 
and  of  some  other  painters  who  helped  them,  I  shall  speak  in  their 
right  time.  In  Spain,  Alenza  alone  seems  to  have  been  infiuenced 
by  the  works  of  Goya,  and  shows  that  influence  on  several  occa¬ 
sions.  In  years  later  Eugenio  Lucas,  who  did  not  even  know 
Goya,  made  a  quantity  of  works  which  must  be  considered  rather  as 
imitations  than  as  inspired  by  his  art.  But  neither  Alenza  nor 
Lucas  were  other  than  isolated  artists,  whose  creations  were 
entirely  independent  of  the  artistic  movement  and  predilections  of 
their  time. 

The  influence  of  Goya  is  wider  and  its  field  more  extensive 
than  could  have  been  brought  about  by  any  number  of  actual 
pupils  at  his  death. 

A  group  of  young  independent  artists,  for  the  most  part 
French,  sought  about  the  year  i860  in  Paris,  that  centre  of  artistic 
culture,  to  break  with  the  conventional  and  false  painting  which 
was  prevalent  in  the  entire  world.  They  were  especially  inspired 
by  the  works  of  Corot  and  Courbet,  who  were  the  artists  represent¬ 
ing  at  that  time  the  new  idea  of  inspiring  their  art  by  the  direct 
observation  of  Nature  and  of  life.  This  group  of  young  artists — 
Pissarro,  Renoir,  Mile.  Morisot,  Cézanne,  Monet,  and  Degas — 
were  rejected  by  public  opinion  and  criticism. 

They  persisted,  and  some  then  began  to  praise  them;  but 
they  were  again  rejected  in  exhibitions  and  competitions  by  the 


190 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


members  of  the  Institute,  the  famous  painters,  the  veteran  artists, 
the  School  of  Rome,  the  fashionable  writers,  and  the  public  in 
general,  who  remained  subject  to  tradition.  At  this  moment,  in 
the  year  1865,  Manet  made  his  appearance,  breaking  completely 
with  all  the  so-called  essential  rules  of  art  in  his  two  works, 
“  Breakfast  in  the  Country”  and  “Olympia.” 

The  hostility  which  Manet  had  aroused,  the  criticism,  carica¬ 
tures,  etc.,  which  his  originality  inspired,  gave  him  rapidly  an 
immense  notoriety;  and  he  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  it  and 
to  unite  in  his  favour  the  rebellious  youth,  and  to  appear  as 
representative  of  the  innovating  tendency  in  art. 

There  is  no  question  here  of  writing  the  story  of  these  painters; 
but  this  is  the  moment  to  enquire  into  the  origin,  the  historical 
antecedents,  which  preceded  that  movement.  Manet  showed  his 
preference  for  b'rans  Hals,  Rembrandt,  Tintoretto,  and  Velazquez, 
as  he  himself  declared,  and  as  he  showed  by  copying  their  works 
in  the  Louvre.  In  the  same  year  that  they  rejected  his  “Olympia” 
in  Paris,  Manet  came  to  Madrid,  and  made  public  his  enthusiasm 
for  Greco,  Wlazquez,  and  Goya.  From  this  period  of  his  art  and 
from  the  years  following  date  the  many  works  of  Spanish  character 
which  Manet  painted. 

The  direct  inspiration,  the  influence  that  the  Spanish  Masters 
had  over  Manet,  his  successors  and,  in  fact,  over  the  whole  of  that 
movement,  is  as  evident  as  it  is  well  known.  And  this  influence 
was  not  confined  precisely  to  anything  so  outwardly  apparent  as 
that  Manet  in  painting  his  “Olympia”  may  have  sought  inspira¬ 
tion  in  “  La  Maja  Desnuda” — a  fact  which,  moreover,  is  not 
certain,  since  “La  Maja”  obeys  tendencies  of  an  earlier  date, 
which  in  no  way  interested  Manet.  “  La  Maja”  is  very  eighteenth 
century,  as  we  say  now,  and  Manet  is  entirely  nineteenth  century; 
these  are  two  pictures  of  a  similar  subject — nothing  more.  The 
real  influence  is  very  different,  and  has  to  be  sought  for  in  certain 
qualities  in  the  works  of  Greco,  in  almost  the  entire  art  of 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


191 

Velazquez,  and  in  the  works  of  Goya’s  last  period — works  which 
are  a  summary  and  synthesis  of  these  three  great  Spanish  masters. 
Erom  this  epoch,  and  even  from  this  moment,  Spanish  art 
acquires  the  importance  which  it  holds  to-day.  This  is  no  question 
of  fashion,  nor  can  its  glory  be  a  passing  one.  If  it  was  slow  to 
become  thus  recognized,  that  was  because  it  remained  hidden  for  a 
long  time  in  this  country  of  ours;  a  country  admirable  in  many 
ways,  but  strange  in  its  character,  in  which-~-I  know  not  whether 
through  indolence,  or  sometimes  through  distrust  of  ourselves, 
and  at  other  times  through  vanity — we  do  not  value  what  we 
have,  or  wish  to  believe  in  ourselves. 

After  those  foreign  painters,  who  have  found  such  inspiration 
in  our  ancient  art,  there  came  the  historians  and  critics  who  made 
it  famous  and  gave  it  universal  renown.  May  heaven  reward  them 
for  their  work.  But  these  works,  dealing  with  Spanish  art,  have 
a  certain  character  of  new  discovery,  which  sometimes  becomes, 
even  without  any  intention  on  the  part  of  its  authors,  humiliating 
for  ourselves.  Happily  those  times  are  now  passing  away,  and 
to-day  it  is  common  to  find  Spaniards  who,  in  Spanish  and  in 
other  languages,  enjoy  the  highest  position  as  historians,  critics, 
and  students  of  our  past.  Not  a  few,  indeed,  of  their  authoritative 
and  admired  works  are  famous  throughout  the  world. 

This  book  of  mine,  a  work  of  simple  character  and  composed 
without  a  break  during  the  year  1915,  does  not  aspire  to  so  much. 
It  is  only  a  sincere  work,  dedicated  to  a  Spanish  genius  in  these 
warlike  days  of  national  exaltation;  and  which,  for  lack  of  other 
or  better  service,  I  offer  to  my  country,  in  these  moments  when 
the  men  of  my  generation,  through  half  the  world,  are  ready  to 
offer  their  lives  for  their  own  land. 


1 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

AND 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


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Gutiérrez  Abascal  (Ricardo)  (Juan  de  la  Encina).  Cuatro  artículos  dedica¬ 
dos  al  aspecto  de  Goya  como  grabador.  Espaiia,  1916.  Madrid. 

Hamerton  (P.  G.).  "Goya.”  The  Portfolio.  London,  1879. 

Hein  (Marguerite).  "  A  l'école  de  Goya.”  Paris,  1909. 

Hoffmann  (J.).  "  Francisco  de  Goya.”  Vienna,  1907. 


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197 


Ivins  (William  M.).  “  A  Note  on  Goya.”  New  York,  1912. 

Laban  (F.).  “  Die  Farbenskizze  zu  einem  Reprasentationsgemalde  Goyas.” 

Kdniglick  Preuss  Kunstsamm.  Jahrbuch,  1900. 

Lafond  (Paul).  “Goya.”  Paris. 

Lafond  (Paul).  “  Nouveaux  Caprices  de  Goya.”  Paris,  1907. 

Lafond  (Paul).  “  Trois  tableaux  de  Goya  au  Musée  de  Castres.”  Chronique 
des  Arts.  1896. 

Lafond  (Paul).  “  Les  dernieres  années  de  Goya  en  France.”  Gazette  des 
Beaux- A  rts.  1907. 

Leclerc  (Tristan).  “  Les  Caprices  de  Goya.”  Paris,  1910. 

Lefort  (Paul).  “  Francisco  Goya:  étude  biographique  et  critique  suivie  de 
I’essai  d’un  catalogue  raisonné  de  son  oeuvre  gravé  et  lithographié.” 
Paris,  1877. 

Lefort  (Paul).  “  Francisco  José  Goya  y  Lucientes.”  (En  Charles  Blanc). 
Paris. 

Lefort  (Paul).  “  Ecole  Espagnole,  collection  Pacully.”  Paris. 

Lefort  (Paul).  “  La  peinture  Espagnole.”  Paris. 

Lefort  (Paul).  “Doha  Isabel  Corbo  de  Porcel.”  Gazette  des  Beaux- Arts. 
Paris,  1897. 

Loga  (Valerian  von).  “  Francisco  de  Goya.”  Berlin,  1903. 

Loga  (Valerian  von).  “Vier  lithographische  Einzelblatter  von  Goya.” 

Berlin,  1905. 

Loga  (Valerian  von).  “Goyas  Lithographien  und  seltene  Radierungen.” 
Berlin,  1907. 

Loga  (Valerian  von).  “  Francisco  de  Goya.”  Meister  de  Graphik.  Band 
IV.  Leipzig. 

Liicke  (H.).  Zeitschrift  für  bildende  Kunst.  Leipzig,  1875,  P^g-  i93- 
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Madrazo  (Pedro  de).  “  Catálogo  descriptivo  e  histórico  del  Museo  del 
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Madrazo  (Pedro  de).  “  Goya.”  Almanaque  de  Ilustracióíi  Española  y 
Americana.  Madrid,  1880. 

Matheron  (Laurent).  “Goya.”  Paris,  1858. 

Mayer  (August  L.).  “  Geschichte  der  Spanischen  Malerei.”  Leipzig,  1913. 
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Mélida  (Enrique).  “Los  desastres  de  la  guerra.”  El  Arte  en  España. 
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198 


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Mélida  (Enrique).  “Coya.”  El  Arte  en  España.  Madrid,  1864. 

Mélida  (José  Ramón).  “  Goya  y  la  Pintura  contemporánea.”  Discurso 
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1907. 

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Cortés.”  Madrid,  1900. 

Momméja  (Jules).  “  Un  tableau  de  Goya  du  Musée  de  Lille.”  Gazette  des 
Beatix-Arts.  Paris,  1905. 

Moratin  (Leandro  E.  de).  “  Obras  póstumas.”  Tomo  III.  Correspondencia 
particular  desde  Burdeos. 

Muther  (R.).  “  Geschichte  der  Malerei  im  XIX  Jahrhundert.”  München, 

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Ossorio  y  Bernard  (M-).  Galería  Biográfica  de  Artistas  Españoles  del  siglo 
XIX.”  Madrid,  1883-84. 

Pardo  Bazán  (Emilia).  “Goya.”  La  Lectura.  Madrid,  1906. 

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Piot  (E.).  “Catalogue  raisonné  de  l’oetivre  gravé  de  Francisco  Goya.”  Le 
cabinet  de  l'amateur.  Paris,  1842. 

Rada  y  Delgado.  “  Los  techos  de  San  Antonio  de  la  Florida.” 

Ríos  (R.  de  los).  “  L’e.xposition  des  oeuvres  de  Goya  a  Madrid.”  La 
Chronique  des  Arts.  Paris,  1900. 

Rothenstein  (W.).  “Goya.”  London,  1900. 

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Sánchez  Cantón  (Javier).  “  Los  pintores  de  Cámara  de  los  Reyes  de 
España.  Los  pintores  de  los  Borbones  XXIV  (Goya).”  Boletín  de  la 
Sociedad  Española  de  Excursiones.  Madrid,  1916. 

Schulze-Berge  (A.).  “  Einiges  uber  die  Goya-Ausstellung.  Madrid  in  Mai 

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Sentenach  (Narciso).  “  Catálogo  de  los  cuadros,  etc.,  de  la  antigua  casa 
ducal  de  Osuna.”  Madrid,  1896. 

Sentenach  (Narciso).  “  La  pintura  en  Madrid,  desde  sus  orígenes  hasta  el 
siglo  XIX.”  Madrid,  1907. 

Sentenach  (Narciso).  “  Los  grandes  retratistas  de  España.”  Madrid,  1914. 


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Solvay  (Lucien).  “  L’Art  Espagnol.”  Paris,  1887. 

Solvay  (Lucien).  “  Les  femmes  de  Goya.”  L' Art  et  les  Artistes.  Paris, 
1906. 

Stirling  Maxwell  (Sir  William).  “Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain.”  London, 
1891. 

Stokes  (Hugh).  “  Francisco  Goya.  A  Study  of  the  Work  and  Personality 
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Viñaza  (Conde  de  la).  “  Adiciones  al  diccionario  histórico  de  los  más  ilustres 
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Yriarte  (Ch.).  “Goya.”  Paris,  1867. 

Yriarte  (Ch.).  “  Goya  aquafortiste.”  Les  Arts.  París.  London,  1887. 

Zapater  y  Gómez  (Francisco).  “Goya,  Noticias  biográficas.”  Zaragoza, 
1868. 

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la  Escuela  Aragonesa  de  Pintura.”  Madrid,  1863, 

X.  “  Análisis  de  un  cuadro  que  pintó  D.  Francisco  Goya  para  la  catedral 
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X.  “  Les  Grands  Graveurs.  Francisco  Goya.”  Paris,  1913. 


9 


.9 


I 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


On  having  seen  some  excellent  portraits  made  by  Goya': 
La  Naturaleza  excedes 
Y  tu  fama  sera  etertia 
Se  de  envidia  no  la  7nata 
I^a  7nisma  Naturaleza. 


IN  this  list  of  portraits  painted  by  Goya  only  the  name  of  the  sitter  has 
been  mentioned.  When  this  is  not  sufficient,  through  possible  confusion 
with  another  portrait  of  the  same  person,  there  is  added  the  statement  whether 
it  is  of  head  and  shoulders  or  the  entire  figure,  the  way  the  figure  has  been 
arranged,  or  some  other  characteristic  note  which  could  differentiate  one 
portrait  from  another.  There  follows — in  parenthesis — the  name  of  the 
possessor  of  the  work,  or  of  the  place  where  it  is  to  be  found,  and  last  of  all 
the  dimensions  of  the  canvas  in  the  case  of  all  those  in  which  this  can  be 
ascertained,  and  the  page  of  the  present  work  in  which  it  has  been  mentioned. 
I  consider  this  sufficient  to  form  my  list.  The  important  works  included  in 
this  list  have  been  described  in  the  text ;  and  those  which  only  appear  in 
the  list  I  consider  either  as  of  secondary  interest  or  I  do  not  know  them 
myself,  and  therefore  can  express  no  definite  opinion  about  them. 

In  spite  of  my  only  mentioning  works  the  authenticity  of  which  is  evident 
or  established,  the  list  attains,  as  will  be  seen,  the  very  considerable  number  of 
292  works.  If  there  were  added  those  which  I  do  not  mention,  owing  to  their 
being  repetitions,  with  more  or  less  variations,  of  others  already  described,  I 
believe  it  will  be  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  portraits  which  are  known 
to  us  would  reach  the  number  of  350;  and  as  it  may  occur  that  new  works 
might  appear,  which  are  unknown  to  critics  and  not  in  any  catalogue,  I 
incline  to  think  that  the  number  of  portraits  made  by  Goya  will  eventually 
reach  400,  a  very  large  number  in  any  case,  and  still  more  so  if  we  consider 
that  portrait  work  was  only  one  element  in  the  output  of  this  most  prolific 
painter. 


These  lines  are  found  in  the  “  Biblioteca  de  Autores  Espáñoles,”  vol.  Ixvii,  page  545. 

D  D 


202 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


1.  Self-portrait,  Goya  as  a  young  man.  Full  length  bust.  (Boehler 

Gallery,  Munich.  Two  replicas  of  this  work  are  mentioned. 
Page  1 6.  Plate  i. 

2.  Self-portrait  of  Goya.  Head  and  shoulders.  (Provincial  Museum  of 

Zaragoza.)  Page  145  and  Plate  57  of  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y 
P'iguras.”  Page  16. 

3.  Self-portrait  of  Goya,  upright  and  painting.  A  small  figure.  (Conde 

de  Villagonzalo,  Madrid.)  0.42  by  0.28.  Page  29.  Plate  4. 

4.  Self-portrait  of  Goya.  Head  resembling  his  portrait  in  the  painting  of 

“  The  Family  of  Charles  IV.”  (Musée  Bonnat,  Bayonne,  France.) 
Page  108. 

5.  Self-portrait  of  Goya,  resembling  that  of  the  Museum  of  Bayonne. 

(Musée  de  Castres,  France.)  Page  175. 

6.  Self-portrait.  Head  and  shoulders.  Dated  from  the  year  1815. 

(Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando.)  Panel,  0.46  by  0.40. 
Page  162.  Plate  50. 

7.  Self-portrait,  very  similar  to  the  above,  of  which  it  may  be  as  considered 

as  a  rejdica.  (Prado  Museum).  0.46  by  0.85.  Page  163. 

8.  Self-portrait,  resembling  the  two  preceding,  to  judge  by  its  description, 

with  the  difference  of  wearing  a  red  dress.  1  do  not  know  this 
work.  (M.  Barroilhet,  Paris.)  0.66  by  0.51. 

9.  Self-portrait,  very  reduced  in  size.  (Carmen  Berganza  de  Martin, 

Madrid.)  0.18  by  0.12. 

10.  Charles  Ill,  dressed  as  a  sportsman.  (Prado  Museum.)  2. 10 by  1.27. 

Page  17. 

1 1.  Charles  HI,  dressed  as  a  sportsman.  Same  dimensions  as  preceding; 

of  more  striking  artistic  merit.  (Duchess  of  Fernán-Niíñez, 
Madrid.)  Page  17. 

12.  Charles  Ill,  dressed  as  a  sportsman.  Same  dimensions  as  ]:)receding. 

(Royal  Palace  of  Madrid.) 

13.  Charles  HI,  dressed  as  a  sportsman.  Same  dimensions  as  preceding. 

(Private  collection,  Madrid.)  Page  17. 

14.  Charles  HI,  in  court  dress.  (Bank  of  Spain.)  1.94  by  i.io.  Page  17. 

15.  The  P'amily  Group  of  Charles  IV.  (Marqués  de  Villavieja,  Madrid.) 

Plate  58  of  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras.” 

16.  Charles  IV,  in  court  dress,  half  length.  (Prado  Museum.)  I  do  not 

mention  the  many  replicas  which,  with  more  or  less  variations,  have 
been  made  of  this  portrait  for  the  reasons  already  set  forth  in  the 
text.  Page  36.  Plate  6. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


203 


17.  Charles  IV,  in  court  dress.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres,  Madrid.) 

18.  Charles  IV,  equestrian  portrait.  (Prado  Museum.)  3.35  by  2.79. 

Page  109. 

19.  Charles  IV,  in  uniform  of  the  Body  Guard.  (Prado  Museum.) 

2.02  by  1.26.  Page  no. 

20.  Charles  IV,  in  shooting  costume.  (Royal  Palace  of  Madrid.) 

21.  Charles  IV.  (Belonging  to  the  Gallery  of  the  Royal  Palace  of  San 

Telmo,  Seville.)  0.82  by  0.66. 

22.  Charles  IV,  dressed  as  a  huntsman.  (Naples,  Capo  di  Monte.) 

23.  Charles  IV,  in  the  uniform  of  the  Body  Guard.  Resembling  that  of 

the  Prado  Museum.  (University  of  Salamanca.) 

24.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  standing,  three-quarter  length,  in  court  dress  and 

with  a  large  hat.  (Prado  Museum.)  As  in  the  case  of  the  pendant 
of  this  picture  before  quoted,  I  do  not  mention  the  many  replicas 
which,  with  more  or  less  variations,  have  been  made  of  it,  for  the 
reasons  set  forth  in  the  text.  Page  36. 

25.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  in  a  dress  which  recalls  the  time  of  Philip  IV. 

(Museum  of  Modern  Art,  Madrid.)  2.20  by  1.40.  Page  40. 
Plate  8. 

2Ó.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  in  court  dress.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres.) 

27.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  in  court  dress.  The  whole  composition  is  original, 

but  the  head  has  been  entirely  re-painted.  (Museum  of  Bilbao.) 
Page  56. 

28.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  equestrian  portrait.  (Prado  Museum.)  3.35  by  2.79. 

Page  99. 

29.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  with  a  black  mantilla.  (Royal  Palace  of  Madrid.) 

Page  99. 

30.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  with  a  black  mantilla,  replica  of  the  above. 

(Prado  Museum.)  2.09  by  1.26.  Page  99. 

31.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  wearing  court  dress  of  Oriental  character.  (Royal 

Palace  of  Madrid.)  Page  109. 

32.  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  with  a  dress  which  recalls  the  preceding  portrait. 

(Naples,  Capo  di  Monte.)  Two  more  portraits  also  mentioned  of 
this  type,  one  in  New  York  and  one  in  Paris,  which  I  do  not  know. 

33.  Queen  Maria  Luisa.  (Belonging  to  the  Gallery  of  the  Royal  Palace 

of  San  Telmo,  Seville.)  0.82  by  0.66. 

34.  Family  of  Charles  IV.  (Prado  Museum.)  2.80  by  3.36.  The  studies 

for  the  heads  for  this  picture  are  those  which  are  now  mentioned 
in  order.  Page  loi.  Plate  27. 


ló  MD  cx5  ON  Ó  I-  ri  ro  TÍ-  lO  NO  t'-  CO  ON  O  C)  ro  tI-  >n 

TO  CO  TO  TO  TO  ■nÍ"  ■ct'  tJ-  rj-  -rf-  >0  lO  >0  <0  LT)  >0 


204 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


Charles  IV.  (Mentioned  in  the  collection  of  the  Countess  of  Paris.) 

I  do  not  know  this  work. 

Queen  Maria  Luisa.  (Munich,  Pinacothek.)  Page  107. 

Prince  of  the  Asturias.  (In  a  private  collection  at  Brussels.)  Page  107. 
Infanta  Doña  Maria  Josefa.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.74  by  0.60. 
Page  107. 

Infante  D.  Francisco  de  P.  Antonio.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.74  by  0.60. 
Page  107. 

Infante  D.  Carlos  Maria  Isidro.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.74  by  0.60. 
Page  107. 

D.  Luis,  Prince  of  Parma.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.74  by  0.60.  Page  107. 
Infante  D.  Antonio.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.74  by  0.60.  Page  107. 
Infanta  Maria  Luisa,  with  her  son  in  her  arms.  (Private  property, 
New  York.)  Another  study  is  also  mentioned  which  I  do  not 
know.  Page  107.  Plate  28. 

Infanta  Isabel,  afterwards  Queen  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  at  twelve  years 
of  age.  (Belonging  to  the  Gallery  of  the  Royal  Palace  of  San 
Telmo,  Seville.)  0.82  by  0.66.  Page  108. 

Infanta  Isabel,  afterwards  Queen  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  (Marqués  de 
\hana,  Madrid.)  Page  108. 

Maria  Teresa  of  Austria,  Empress  of  Germany,  Queen  of  Hungary 
and  Bohemia.  (The  Duke  of  Alba,  Madrid.)  0.54  by  0.57. 

The  Prince  of  Asturias,  afterwards  Ferdinand  VI  I.  (Belonging  to  the 
gallery  of  the  Royal  Palace  of  San  Telmo,  Seville.)  0.82  by  0.66. 
F erdinand  \T  I ,  equestrian  portrait.  ( Royal  Academy  of  San  F ernando.) 
2.90  by  2.10.  Page  158. 

Ferdinand  \T  I,  head  and  shoulders.  (Conde  de  Valderro.)  Page  158. 
Ferdinand  \HI,  with  royal  mantle.  (Prado  Museum.)  2.12  by  1.46. 
Page  1 58.  Plate  48. 

Ferdinand  VII,  resembling  the  preceding.  (Office  of  the  Imperial 
Canal  of  Aragon,  Zaragoza.)  Page  159. 

Ferdinand  \'II,  in  military  uniform.  (Prado  Museum.)  2.07  by  1.44. 
Page  159. 

Ferdinand  VII,  in  military  uniform.  (Supreme  Council  of  War.) 
Page  159. 

Ferdinand  VII.  (Provincial  Assembly  of  Pamplona.)  Page  159. 

The  Family  of  the  Infante  D.  Luis,  son  of  Charles  III.  (Belonging 
to  the  collection  of  the  Palace  of  Boadilla  del  Monte  To-day  to 
be  found  in  Italy.)  2.48  by  3.15.  Pages  25  and  28. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS  205 

56.  Infante  D.  Luis  de  Borbón.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of  Boadilla  del 

Monte.)  Panel,  0.42  by  0.35.  Page  27. 

57.  Infante  D.  Luis  Maria  de  Borbón.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of 

Boadilla  del  Monte.)  0.79  by  0.60.  Page  27. 

58.  Doña  Maria  Teresa  de  Vallabriga.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of 

Boadilla  del  Monte.)  Panel,  0.42  by  0.35.  Page  27. 

59.  Doña  Maria  Teresa  de  Vallabriga,  standing,  and  resting  her  arms  on 

the  back  of  a  chair.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of  Boadilla  del  Monte.) 
1.48  by  0.93.  Page  27. 

60.  Doña  Maria  Teresa  de  Vallabriga,  equestrian  portrait.  Without  doubt 

Goya  created  this  work,  as  he  speaks  of  it  in  his  private  corre¬ 
spondence.  I  do  not  know  it.  To  be  found  in  Italy. 

61.  The  Infante  Cardinal  (Cardinal  of  Bourbon),  as  a  child.  (Collection 

of  the  Palace  of  Boadilla  del  Monte.)  1.30  by  1.16.  Page  27. 

62.  The  Infante  Cardinal  (Cardinal  of  Bourbon).  (Belonging  to  the  collec¬ 

tion  of  the  Palace  of  Boadilla  del  Monte.)  1.95  by  1.30.  Page  1 15. 

63.  The  Infante  Cardinal  (Cardinal  of  Bourbon).  Comes  from  the  Spanish 

church  of  Our  Lady  of  Montserrat,  Rome.  (Prado  Museum.) 
2.14  by  1.36.  Page  1 1 5. 

64.  The  Infante  Cardinal  (Cardinal  of  Bourbon).  (Marqués  de  Casa- 

Torres,  Madrid.)  2  by  1.14.  Page  115. 

65.  The  Infante  Cardinal  (Cardinal  of  Bourbon),  half  length.  (Collection 

of  the  Marqués  de  la  Vega  Inclán,  Madrid.) 

66.  Doña  Maria  Teresa  de  Borbón  y  Vallabriga,  Condesa  de  Chinchón, 

as  a  child.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of  Boadilla  del  Monte.) 
1.30  by  1. 16.  Page  27. 

67.  Condesa  de  Chinchón,  in  a  grey  dress,  standing.  (Collection  of  the 

Palace  of  Boadilla  del  Monte.)  1.95  by  1.30.  Page  115. 

68.  Condesa  de  Chinchón,  of  the  same  character  as  the  preceding,  with 

the  difference  of  being  half  length.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of 
Boadilla  del  Monte.)  Page  115. 

69.  Condesa  de  Chinchón,  full  length,  seated.  (Collection  of  the  Palace  of 

Boadilla  del  Monte.)  2.08  by  1.39.  Page  113.  Plate  30. 

70.  Condesa  de  Chinchón,  half  length.  Replica  of  the  last.  (Havemeyer 

Collection,  New  York.) 

71.  Conde  de  Floridablanca.  (Marquesa  de  Martorell,  Madrid.)  2.62  by 

1.66.  Page  21.  Plate  2. 

72.  Conde  de  Floridablanca,  a  small  portrait,  probably  a  study.  (Belong¬ 

ing  to  the  Gallery  Stchoukine,  Paris.)  Page  22. 


2o6  FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 

73.  Conde  de  Floridablanca.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres,  Madrid.)  Page  22. 

74.  Conde  de  Floridablanca.  (Cathedral  of  Madrid.)  Page  22. 

75.  Conde  de  Causa.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres,  Madrid.)  Page  22. 

76.  Conde  de  Causa.  (José  Lázaro,  Madrid.)  Page  22. 

77.  Conde  de  Causa,  reproduced  in  “  Hispania.”  As  I  do  not  know  this 

portrait  I  cannot  state  whether  it  is  not  one  of  the  two  previously 
mentioned.  (Belonging  to  D.  Pablo  Milá.) 

78.  Ventura  Rodriguez,  portrait  of  head  and  shoulders.  Pages  28-29. 

79.  Ventura  Rodriguez.  (Trotti  Callery,  Paris.)  Page  29.  Plate  3. 

80.  An  unknown  youth.  (Boston  Museum.)  Page  35.  Plate  5. 

81.  Altamirano.  Page  35. 

82.  Portrait  of  a  young  girl,  head  and  shoulders.  (Brussels  Museum.) 

Page  39.  Plate  7. 

83.  Feliciana  Bayeu.  (Presented  by  Cristóbal  Ferriz  to  the  Prado 

Museum.)  0.38  by  0.30. 

84.  José  de  Toro  Zambrano.  (Bank  of  Spain.)  1.13  by  0.78.  Page  23. 

85.  Conde  de  Altamira.  (Bank  of  Spain.)  1.77  by  1.08.  Page  23. 

86.  Marqués  de  Tolosa.  (Bank  of  Spain.)  i.i2byo.78.  Page  23. 

87.  Conde  de  Cabarrus.  (Bank  of  Spain.)  2.10  by  1.27.  Page  24. 

88.  P'rancisco  Larrumbe.  (Bank  of  Spain.)  1.13  by  0.77.  Page  24. 

89.  Mariano  Luis  de  Urquijo.  (Ro)  al  Academy  of  History.)  r. 28  by  0.97. 

Page  39. 

90.  Juan  Agustin  Ceán  Bermiidez.  (Belonging  to  the  Marqués  de 

Corvera,  Madrid.)  1.22  by  0.88.  Page  25. 

91.  Marqués  de  Bajamar.  Page  35. 

92.  Juan  Manuel  Alvarez  de  Faria.  Page  35. 

93.  Portrait  of  a  boy  dressed  as  a  soldier.  (Sr.  Orossen,  Paris.)  Page  35. 

94.  Unknown  portrait.  (Van  Celdern  Collection,  Brussels.)  Page  39. 

95.  Feliciana  Bayeu.  (Prado  Museum.)  Page  39. 

96.  Juan  Agustin  Ceán  Bermiidez,  head  and  shoulders.  Page  60. 

97.  The  wife  of  Ceán  Bermiidez.  (National  Callery  of  Buda  Pesth.) 

1.2 1  by  0.85.  Page  63. 

98.  Pope  Innocent  X.  Copy  of  Velazquez  by  Coya.  (Collection  of  the 

Conde  de  Villagonzalo.)  Page  41. 

99.  Marquesa  de  San  Andrés,  seated,  three-quarter  length.  (Out  of  Spain.) 

Page  39. 

TOO.  Marquesa  de  San  Andrés,  head  and  shoulders.  (Out  of  Spain.) 
Page  39. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS  207 

1 01.  Marquesa  de  Pontejos.  (Marquesa  de  Martorell,  Madrid.)  2.10  by 

1.28.  Page  47.  Plate  9. 

102.  Marquesa  de  Pontejos.  (Not  long  ago  for  sale  in  Madrid;  I  do  not 

know  where  it  is  at  present.)  Page  47. 

103.  Maria  Ildefonsa  Dábalos  y  Santa  Maria.  (Conde  de  Villagonzalo.) 

1.08  by  0.80.  Page  77. 

104.  Francisco  Javier  Goya,  full  length,  dressed  in  grey.  {L’ konitne  gris .) 

(Ferdinand  Bischoffsheim,  Paris.)  Page  65.  Plate  15. 

105.  Gumersinda  Goicoechea,  wife  of  Goya’s  son.  (Bischoffsheim  collection, 

Paris.)  Page  65. 

106.  Sebastian  Martinez.  (Trotti  Gallery,  Paris.)  Page  53. 

107.  Portrait  of  an  unknown  youth.  (Marqués  de  Santillana,  Madrid.) 

Page  35. 

108.  Martin  Zapater,  head  and  shoulders,  profile  to  the  left.  (Durand 

Ruel  Gallery,  Paris.)  0.78  by  0.60.  Page  49. 

109.  Martin  Zapater,  head  and  shoulders,  full  face.  Oval.  (Durand  Ruel 

Gallery,  Paris.)  0.80  by  0.60.  Pages  49  and  88.  Plate  24. 
no.  Gabriel  de  Aristizabal,  lieutenant  of  the  Royal  Navy.  (Naval 
Museum.)  i.i4byo.95. 

111.  Admiral  Mazarredo.  (From  the  collection  of  Boadilla  del  Monte.) 

1.05  by  0.84.  Pages  35-36. 

1 12.  Admiral  Mazarredo.  (Antonio  Mazarredo,  Zaragoza.)  Page  36. 

1 13.  Juanita  Mazarredo.  (Havemeyer  Collection,  New  York.)  Page  36. 

1 14.  General  Ricardos,  half  length,  standing.  (Navas  collection,  Madrid.) 

Page  36. 

115.  General  Ricardos.  (Pedro  Durán,  Madrid.)  1.09  by  0.81.  Page  36. 

1 16.  General  Ricardos,  three-quarter  length,  seated.  (Fortunato  de  Selgas, 

Cudillero,  Asturias.)  Page  36. 

1 1 7.  The  artist  Asensi.  (From  the  collection  of  the  Royal  Palace  of  San 

Telmo,  Seville.)  0.55  by  0.42.  Page  124. 

1 18.  An  unknown  lady,  full  head  and  shoulders.  Condesa  de  Gondomar, 

Madrid.) 

1 19.  Conde  de  Trastamara,  child.  (¡Marquesa  de  Castrillo,  Madrid.) 

Pages  52-53. 

120.  Maria  Teresa  Apodaca  de  Sesma.  (Arteta  family,  Madrid.  Nowin 

New  York.)  1.28  by  0.96.  Page  62. 

12 1.  Maria  del  Rosario  Fernández,  la  Tirana.  (Marquesa  de  Valdeolmos, 

Madrid.)  1.12  by  0.79.  Page  59.  Plate  12. 


2o8 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


122.  Maria  Ignacia  Alvarez  de  Toledo,  Marquesa  de  Astorga,  with  her 

daughter.  (Marqués  de  Corvera,  Madrid.)  1.95  by  1. 15.  Page  62. 

123.  Doña  1  adea  Arias  de  Enriquez.  (Prado  Museum.)  1.90  by  1.06. 

Page  54.  Plate  1 1. 

124.  Rita  Barrenechea,  Marquesa  de  la  Solana.  (Beistegui  Collection, 

Paris.)  1.83  by  1.24.  Page  60. 

125.  Bernarda  Tavira,  head  and  shoulders.  (Mario  Adán  de  Yarza, 

Zubieta,  Lequeitio,  Vizcaya.)  Page  1 50  of  “  Goya.  Composiciones 
y  Figuras.” 

1 26.  Antonio  Adán  de  Yarza,  half  length.  (Mario  Adán  de  Yarza,  Zubieta, 

Lequeitio,  Vizcaya.)  Page  150  of  “Goya.  Composiciones  y 
P'iguras.” 

127.  Ramona  Maria  de  Barbachano  de  Adán  de  Yarza,  half  length;  com¬ 

panion  picture  to  the  last.  (Mario  Adán  de  Yarza,  Zubieta, 
Lequeitio,  Vizcaya.)  Page  1  50  of  “Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras.” 

128.  Conde  de  Campomanes.  A  portrait  which  Goya  certainly  painted,  as 

can  be  proved  by  documents.  1  do  not  know  the  Avork  or  its 
present  possessor. 

129.  Bartolomé  Sureda.  (Durand  Ruel  Gallery,  Paris.) 

130.  Leandro  b'ernández  de  Moratin.  (Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando.) 

0.72  by  0.56.  Page  50. 

131.  Juan  de  Villanueva.  (Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando.)  o.93byo.68. 

Page  57. 

132.  Ramon  de  la  Posado  y  Soto.  (Knoedler  Gallery,  London,  Paris, 

New  York.)  1.97  by  0.96.  Pages  56-67. 

133.  Féli.x  Colon  de  Larriategui.  1.20  by  0.85.  Page  58. 

134.  Francisco  de  Paula  Caveda  y  Solares. 

135.  The  engraver  Carmona.  (Private  property,  Paris.)  Page  64. 

136.  The  painter  Camarón.  Page  64. 

137.  Tomas  Perez  PNtaia,  an  important  portrait,  the  present  possessor  of 

which  I  do  not  know.  (Belonged  to  the  Cedillo  collection.) 
1.02  by  0.97.  Pages  53-54. 

138.  Juan  Melendez  Valdés,  head  and  shoulders.  (Bowes  Museum,  Barnard 

Castle,  England.)  Page  86.  Plate  23. 

139.  Juan  Meléndez  Valdés.  Replica  of  the  last  with  some  variations. 

(Suárez  inelán,  Madrid.)  Page  86. 

140.  Juan  Meléndez  Valdés.  Replica  of  the  last  with  some  variations. 

(Private  property,  Madrid.)  Page  86. 

141.  Doctor  Perak  (National  Gallery  of  London.)  Page  94. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


209 

142.  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Osuna  and  their  children,  (Prado  Museum.) 

2.25  by  1.74.  Page  48. 

143.  Duke  of  Osuna,  (Pierpont  Morgan  collection,  New  York,)  Page  46. 

144.  Duchess  of  Osuna,  (Bauer  collection,  Madrid,)  Page  46, 

T45,  Francisco,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Osuna,  The  work 
of  Goya  and  Esteve,  (Duque  de  Tovar,  Madrid.)  Page  90. 

146.  Pedro  Romero,  full  head  and  shoulders.  (Belonging  to  the  collection 

of  the  Infante  D.  Sebastian,  Pau,  France.)  0.95  by  0.75. 

147.  Pedro  Romero.  (Duque  de  Veragua,  Madrid.)  Page  69,  Plate  16. 

148.  Pedro  Romero.  (Private  collection,  Paris.)  0.80  by  0.60. 

149.  Pedro  Romero.  (The  Spanish  Society  of  America,  New  York.) 

150.  José  Romero.  (Duque  de  Ansola,  Madrid.)  0.92  by  0.76.  Page  69. 

1 5 1.  Costillares.  (Lázaro  collection,  Madrid.)  Page  69. 

152.  Costillares.  (Conde  del  Asalto,  Madrid.)  Page  68. 

153.  Costillares.  Almost  identical  to  the  last,  (Private  property,  Paris.) 

Page  69. 

154.  The  torero  Martincho,  head  and  shoulders.  (Belonging  to  Eduardo 

Cano.)  0.57  by  0.77. 

155.  Maria  Teresa  Cayetana  de  Silva,  XIII  Duquesa  de  Alba,  head  and 

shoulders.  (Trotti,  Paris.)  0.88  by  0.66. 

1 56.  La  Duquesa  de  Alba.  (The  Duque  de  Alba,  Palacio  de  Liria.) 

1.94  by  1.30.  Page  72.  Plate  17. 

157.  Duquesa  de  Alba,  in  the  dress  of  a  maja.  (The  Spanish  Society  of 

America,  New  York.)  Page  72.  Plate  18. 

1 58.  Duquesa  de  Alba,  a  small  replica  of  the  last.  (Belonging  to  D.  Manuel 

Urzaiz,  Seville.)  0.52  by  0.42.  I  do  not  know  this  work,  men¬ 
tioned  by  Viñaza. 

159.  Duquesa  de  Alba,  a  replica  of  the  one  preserved  in  the  Palacio  de 

Liria.  (Marquesa  de  Caltabuturu,  Madrid.)  Page  75. 

160.  Duquesa  de  Alba.  (Duque  de  Aliaga,  Madrid.)  Page  73. 

16 1.  A  group,  Doña  Maria  Francisca  de  Sales  Portocarrero  y  Zúñiga, 

IV  Condesa  de  Montijo,  with  her  four  daughters.  (Conde  del 
Montijo,  Palacio  de  Liria,  Madrid.)  2.15  by  1.45.  Page  76. 

162.  Maria  Gabriela  Palafox  y  Portocarrero,  Marquesa  de  Lazán.  (Duque 

de  Alba.)  1.93  by  1.15.  Page  77.  Plate  19. 

1 63.  Marqués  de  Villafranca,  Duque  de  Alba.  (Condesa  de  Niebla,  Madrid.) 

Page  155  and  Plate  61  of  “Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras.” 
Page  73. 


E  E 


210  FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 

1 64.  Marqués  de  Villafranca,  Duque  de  Alba,  replica  of  the  last.  (Marquesa 

de  Caltabuturu,  Madrid.) 

165.  Marquesa  de  \’’illafranca,  Doña  Maria  Tomasa  Palafoxy  Portocarrero. 

(Condesa  de  Niebla,  Madrid.)  Page  155  and  Plate  62  of  “  Goya. 
Composiciones  y  Figuras.”  Page  74. 

166.  Marquesa  de  \hllafranca,  Doña  Maria  Antonia  Gonzaga  y  Caracciolo. 

(Condesa  de  Niebla,  Madrid.)  Page  155  and  Plate  60  of  “Goya. 
Composiciones  y  Figuras.”  Page  74. 

167.  Francisco  Bayeu.  (Provincial  Museum  of  Valencia.)  i.i2byo.85. 

Page  62. 

168.  Francisco  Bayeu,  half  length,  life  size.  (Prado  Museum.)  i.i2byo.84. 

Page  6r.  Plate  14. 

169.  An  unknown  gentleman,  half  length.  ( VanGeldern  collection,  Brussels.) 

170.  Rita  Luna,  small  head  and  shoulders.  (Belonging  to  D.  \Glentin 

Carderera.)  0.41  by  0.34. 

I  71.  An  unknown  gentleman.  Perhaps  an  actor,  and  probably  one  of  the 
company  of  Rita  Luna.  Head  and  shoulders.  A  person  of  middle 
age.  (Formed  part  ofthe  Carderera  collection,  Madrid.)  0.38  by  0.30. 
172.  Lorenza  Correa,  a  famous  singer.  (Ferdinand  Bischoftsheim,  Paris.) 
Page  65. 

'  173.  An  unknown  lady.  (Van  Geldern  collection,  Brussels.)  Page  63. 

"  174.  Portrait  of  a  lady,  by  the  dress  of  the  sitter  and  other  details  con¬ 
nected  with  the  preceding.  (Palacio  de  Riofrio.)  Page  63. 

175.  The  bookseller.  (Havemeyer  collection.  New  York.)  1.50  by  0.76. 

Page  85.  Plate  22. 

176.  Marquesa  de  Santiago,  a  portrait  which  it  is  certain  Goya  painted, 

but  I  do  not  know  its  present  possessor. 

1 77.  Vicenta  Chollet  y  Cavallero.  (Of  the  Groult  collection,  Paris.) 

178.  Rita  Molinos.  (Private  collection  in  Brussels.)  Page  79.  Plate  21. 

179.  Marquesa  de  las  Mercedes.  (Belonged  to  the  collection  of  the 

Marqués  de  Remisa.  To-day  out  of  Spain.)  Page  78.  Plate  20. 

180.  P'igure  of  a  maja,  reduced  size:  seems  connected  with  the  preceding 

portrait.  (Louvre  Museum.)  0.52  by  0.34.  Page  78. 

18 1.  Joaquina  Candado.  (Provincial  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Valencia.) 

1.63  by  1. 1 8.  Page  52. 

182.  Mariano  Ferrer,  secretary  of  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  of  Valencia. 

(Valencia.)  Page  52. 

183.  Archbishop  D.  Joaquin  Company.  (Parish  Church  of  San  Martin, 

Valencia.)  Page  52. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


21  1 


184. 

185. 

186. 

187. 

188. 

189. 


190. 

191. 

192. 


193- 

194. 


195- 

196. 

197. 

198. 
199- 


200. 


201. 

202. 


203. 

204. 


205. 


A  lady  with  a  white  mantilla.  (Belonging  to  the  Gallery  of  the 
Royal  Palace  of  San  Telmo,  Seville.)  i  by  0.60. 

Maria  del  Rosario  Fernández,  La  Tirana,  standing  full  length. 

(Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando.)  2.10  by  1.40.  Page  85. 
Marquesa  de  Espeja.  (Duque  de  Valencia,  Madrid.)  Page  64. 
Marquesa  de  Casa-Flores.  (Boehler  Gallery,  Munich.)  i.t2  by  0.79. 
Page  Ó3. 

An  unknown  girl,  dressed  in  a  white  frock  trimmed  with  blue  ribbons. 
An  unfinished  work.  I  do  not  know  this  work.  (Belonged  to 
J.  Lozano,  with  other  works  of  Goya,  Madrid.)  0.21  by  0.16. 
Duque  de  Castroterreño;  this  picture  keeps  by  its  technique  close 
relation  with  the  group  of  “  The  Condesa  de  Montijo  and  her 
family,”  to-day  in  the  Palacio  de  Liria.  (Comes  from  Alcalá  de 
Henares.) 

Duquesa  de  Castroterreño,  companion  picture  to  the  preceding. 

(Comes  from  Alcala  de  Henares.)  Page  64. 

Marquesa  de  Bajamar.  Page  64. 

Miguel  Cayetano  Soler.  I  do  not  know  this  portrait  or  its  possessor, 
although  it  is  evident  that  it  was  painted  by  Goya. 

Gasparini.  (Durand  Ruel  Gallery,  Paris.)  Page  64. 

D.  Manuel  Godoy,  Prince  de  la  Paz.  (Royal  Academy  of  San 
Fernando.)  1.80  by  2.65.  Page  112.  Plate  29. 

Leonor  Valdés  y  Barruso.  (Orossen,  Paris.)  Page  122. 

Maria  Vicenta  Barruso  Valdés.  (Orossen,  Paris.)  Page  122. 

An  unknown  lady,  full  head  and  shoulders.  (Condesa  de  Gomar, 
Madrid.) 

Antonio  Pórcel.  (Belonged  to  the  Pórcel family,  Granada.)  i.i3byo.82. 
Isabel  Corvo  de  Pórcel.  (National  Gallery  of  London.)  0.82  by  0.55. 
Page  78. 

The  designer  Pérez  de  Castro.  (Louvre  Museum.)  0.99  by  0.69. 
Page  94. 

Antonio  Foraster.  (Javier  Millán,  Madrid.)  0.45  by  0.37. 

Juan  José  Mateo  Arias  Davila,  XI I  Conde  de  Puñonrostro.  (Mar¬ 
qués  de  Almaguer,  Madrid.)  2.34  by  1.50. 

The  actor  Máiquez.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.77  by  0.58.  Page  127. 
The  actor  Máiquez.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres,  Madrid.)  0.92  by  0.70. 
Page  127. 

The  engraver  Rafael  Esteve.  (Provincial  Museum  of  Valencia.) 
1.63  by  T.18.  Page  161. 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


212 

206.  Mariano  Ferrer.  (Provincial  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Valencia.) 

0.85  by  0.64. 

207.  The  naturalist  Azara,  a  portrait  of  more  than  half  length.  (Belonged 

to  D.  Lorenzo  Azara.) 

208.  Ramón  de  Pignatelli,  an  important  work  which  I  do  not  know. 

(Belonging  to  the  family  Pignatelli.)  2.19  by  1.37. 

209.  Ramón  de  Pignatelli.  (Duque  de  Luna,  Madrid.)  0.80  by  0.62. 

210.  José  Maria  Arango,  a  painter  from  Seville.  (Belonged  to  a  private 

collection  in  Seville.)  0.55  by  0.40.  Page  166. 

21 1.  José  Maria  Arango,  son  of  the  painter  who  sat  for  the  preceding. 

(Comes  from  Seville.)  Page  166. 

212.  José  de  Vargas  y  Ponce.  (Royal  Academy  of  History.)  1.04  by  0.82. 

Page  123. 

213.  Portrait  of  a  lady.  (Joaquin  Gutiérrez  Martin.)  0.75  by  0.52. 

214.  Conde  de  Fernán-Núñez.  (Duquesa  de  P'ernán- Núñez,  Madrid.) 

Page  1 1 7.  Plate  34. 

215.  Condesa  de  Fernán-Niiñez.  (Duquesa  de  Fernán-Nimez,  Madrid.) 

Page  1 1 7. 

216.  Mariano  Goya,  grandson  of  the  artist.  (Henry  Crooke,  Madrid.) 

Page  1 16.  Plate  32. 

217.  Mariano  Goya,  head  and  shoulders  in  profile;  his  head  is  covered  with 

a  high  hat  with  a  narrow  brim.  (Old  collection  of  the  Duque  de 
Sexto,  Madrid.)  Page  116.  Plate  33. 

218.  Manuel  Cantin  Lucientes,  represented  as  a  boy.  (Havemeyer  collec¬ 

tion,  New  York.)  0.50  by  0.44.  Page  1 16. 

219.  P'ernando  Guillemardet,  ambassador  of  the  French  Republic  in  Spain. 

(Louvre  Museum,  Paris.)  1.85  by  1.25.  Page  90.  Plate  25. 

220.  Marqués  de  San  Adrián.  (Marqués  de  San  Adrián,  Tudela.) 

2.09  by  1.27.  Page  121.  Plate  35. 

221.  Bernardo  Liarte.  (Appeared  in  the  Groult  collection,  Paris.)  Page  64. 

222.  Doña  T.  Sureda.  (Durand  Ruel  Gallery,  Paris.)  1.20  by  0.80. 

223.  Ignacio  Garcini.  (Colonel  Payne,  New  York.)  1.04  by  0.82. 

Page  1 20. 

224.  Josefa  Castilla-Portugal  de  Garcini.  (Colonel  Payne,  New  York.) 

1.04  by  0.82.  Page  121. 

225.  Portrait  of  an  unknown  person.  (Manuel  Soler  y  Alarcon,  Madrid.) 

226.  Antonio  Zarate.  (Outside  Spain.)  1.05  by  0.84.  Page  123. 

227.  Antonio  Zarate.  (Outside  Spain.)  0.71  by  0.58.  Page  123. 

Plate  38. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


213 

228.  An  unknown  lady,  head  and  shoulders.  (Doctor  James  Simon,  Berlin.) 

Page  122. 

229.  Father  La  Canal.  (José  de  Lázaro  collection,  Madrid.)  0.59  by  0.49. 

Page  154. 

230.  Conde  de  Tepa,  in  military  uniform,  head  and  shoulders.  (Lázaro 

collection,  Madrid.) 

231.  Tio  Paquete.  (Conde  de  Doña  Mariana,  Madrid.)  0.39  by  0.31. 

Page  154. 

232.  Manuel  Lapeña,  Marqués  de  Bondad  Real.  (Joaquin  Argamasilla, 

Madrid.)  2.25  by  1.40.  Page  93. 

233.  Pedro  Mocarte,  head  and  shoulders  portrait.  (The  Hispanic  Society 

of  America,  New  York.)  Page  124.  Plate  39. 

234.  P'riar  Juan  Fernández  de  Rojas,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine.  Is  this 

portrait  the  one  which  was  before  considered  to  be  of  Bishop 
Rojas?  (Royal  Academy  of  History.)  Pages  154-155. 

235.  A  Franciscan  friar.  (Berlin  Museum.)  Page  156. 

236.  Friar  Miguel  Fernández,  Bishop  of  Marcopolis.  Is  this  portrait, 

coming  from  Seville,  and  mentioned  by  Vinaza,  the  same  which 
to-day,  as  a  portrait  of  a  monk,  is  preserved  in  the  Berlin  Museum  ? 
In  this  case  its  authenticity  is  indisputable.  If  this  is  not  so,  I  do 
not  know  the  work  and  cannot  make  any  statement  about  it. 

237.  Marquesa  de  Santa  Cruz.  (Heirs  of  the  Conde  de  Pie  de  Concha, 

Madrid.)  Page  121.  Plate  36. 

238.  Condesa  de  Haro,  head  and  shoulders.  (Duquesa  de  San  Carlos, 

Madrid.)  Page  121.  Plate  37. 

239.  General  Urrutia.  (Prado  Museum.)  2  by  1.36.  Page  89. 

240.  Tadeo  Bravo  Rivero.  (Spiridon  Gallery,  Paris.)  Page  125.  Plate  40. 

241.  Gaspar  Melchor  de  Jovellanos.  (Duque  de  las  Torres,  Madrid.) 

2.05  by  1.33.  Plate  26.  Page  15 1  of  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y 
Figuras.”  Page  91. 

242.  Francisco  de  Saavedra.  (Baron  Cochin,  Paris.)  Page  153  and 

Plate  59  of  “  Goya.  Composiciones  y  Figuras.”  Page  93. 

243.  Pantaleón  Perez  de  Nenin.  (Pedro  Labat  y  Arrizabalaga,  Madrid.) 

2.05  by  1.24.  Page  127. 

244.  General  Palafox,  equestrian  portrait.  (Prado  Museum.)  2.48  by  2.24. 

Page  132. 

245.  Marqués  de  Caballero.  (National  Museum  of  Buda  Pesth.)  Page  125. 

246.  Marquesa  de  Caballero.  (Duque  de  Andria,  Madrid.)  1.06  by  0.84. 

Page  126. 


214 


FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCIENTES 


247.  José  Manuel  Romero,  ¡n  the  dress  of  a  minister  of  state.  (I  do  not 

know  its  present  possessor;  recently  it  left  Spain.)  1.02  by  0.81. 
Page  142.  Plate  41. 

248.  Juan  Antonio  Llórente.  (Outside  Spain.)  i. goby  1. 14.  Page  143. 

Plate  42. 

249.  Nicolas  Guye,  French  general.  (Knoedler  Gallery,  London,  Paris, 

New  York.)  Page  144.  Plate  43. 

250.  Victor  Guye,  nephew  of  the  general  mentioned  above.  (Knoedler 

Gallery,  London,  Paris,  New  York.)  Page  145.  Plate  44. 

251.  Lord  Wellington,  equestrian  portrait.  (Duke  of  Wellington.  This 

portrait  is  preserved  in  his  country  seat  of  Stratfield  Saye  House, 
England.)  Page  148.  Plate  45. 

252.  Lord  Wellington,  standing,  half  length.  (Havemeyer  collection. 

New  York.)  Page  148. 

253.  Juan  Martin,  “El  Empecinado.”  (Luis  Navas.)  0.84  by  0.65. 

Page  149. 

254.  Baron  de  Eróles.  (This  and  the  other  portraits  of  the  series  are  of 

very  doubtful  authenticity.  I  have  mentioned  them  for  their  interest 
as  portraits.  Artillery  IMuseum,  Madrid.) 

255.  Josefa  Bayeu,  wife  of  Goya.  (Prado  Museum.)  0.81  by  0.56. 

Page  152.  Plate  46. 

256.  Juan  Bautista  de  Goicoechea.  (Durand  Ruel  Gallery,  Paris.) 

Page  123. 

257.  Narcisa  Barañana  de  Goicoechea,  companion  picture  to  the  preceding. 

(Havemeyer  collection,  New  York.)  Page  123. 

258.  Juan  Martin  de  Goicoechea.  (lYonomic  Society  of  Aragon  of  Friends 

of  the  Country,  Zaragoza.)  0.82  by  0.60. 

259.  Juan  Martin  de  Goicoechea.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres,  Madrid.) 

0.82  by  0.59.  Page  152. 

260.  Juana  Galarza  de  Goicoechea.  (Marqués  de  Casa-Torres,  Madrid.) 

0.82  by  0.59.  Page  152. 

26 1 .  Duque  de  Osuna,  tenth  of  his  line.  (Bonnat  IMuseum,  Bayonne,  F' ranee.) 

Page  164. 

262.  Duque  de  Osuna,  sketch  for  the  preceding  portrait.  (I  do  not  know 

its  possessor.)  Page  165. 

263.  Pepito  Corte.  (Outside  Spain.  1  cannot  state  precisely  where.) 
Page  153.  Plate  47. 

Duque  de  San  Carlos.  (Office  of  the  Imperial  Canal  of  Aragon, 
Zaragoza.)  2.80  by  1.25.  Page  160.  Plate  49. 


264. 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS  215 

265.  Duque  de  San  Carlos,  sketch  of  the  head  for  the  large  portrait. 

(Conde  de  Villagonzalo.)  0.59  by  0.43.  Page  160. 

266.  Duque  de  San  Carlos,  small  figure.  (Marqués  de  la  Torrecilla, 

Madrid.)  0.77  by  0.60.  Page  160. 

267.  José  L.  de  Munárriz.  (Royal  Academy  of  San  Fernando.)  0.84  by 

0.64.  Page  169.  Plate  52. 

268.  An  unknown  gentleman,  who  holds  in  his  hand  a  paper  on  which  may 

be  read:  “  Auctibus  Reipublicae  expulsus.”  (Outside  Spain.) 
Page  16 1. 

269.  An  unknown  gentleman,  resembling  by  its  technique  and  period  the 

preceding  portrait.  (I  do  not  know  its  present  possessor.) 

270.  Ignacio  Omulryan,  resembling  by  its  technique  the  two  last  mentioned. 

Paije  162. 

271.  An  unknown  lady.  (Conde  de  Penalver.)  (Is  mentioned  in  the 

supplement  to  the  catalogue  of  the  Exhibition  of  the  Works  of 
Goya,  1900.) 

272.  Joven  Española  (Spanish  Girl).  (Louvre  Museum,  Paris.)  Page  166. 

273.  An  unknown  lady,  head  and  shoulders;  the  head  adorned  with  a  black 

mantilla.  (National  Gallery  of  Ireland,  Dublin.)  Page  165, 

274.  Duquesa  del  Parque.  (Marquesa  de  Bermejillo,  Madrid.)  Page 

153- 

275.  Manuela  Girón  y  Pimentel,  Duquesa  de  Abrantes.  (Conde  de  la 

Quinta  de  la  Enjarada,  Madrid.)  0.92  by  0.07.  Page  164. 
Plate  51. 

276.  Manuel  Garcia  de  la  Prada.  (Pacully  collection,  Paris.)  Page  163. 

277.  Group  with  various  portraits,  representing  an  assembly.  (Museum 

of  Castres,  France.)  Page  174. 

278.  An  unknown  gentleman.  (Museum  of  Castres,  France.)  Page  175. 

279.  Doctor  Arrieta  attending  Goya.  (In  a  private  collection  in  Paris.) 

1. 17  by  0.79.  Group  of  various  persons.  Of  this  picture  I  only 
know  the  copy  made  by  Juliá.  Page  172. 

280.  Tiburcio  Pérez.  (Havemeyer  collection.  New  York.)  1.02  by  0.81. 

Page  172.  Plate  53. 

281.  Juan  Antonio  Cuervo.  (Durand  Ruel  Gallery,  Paris.)  1.28  by  0.87. 

Page  172. 

282.  Ramón  Satue,  Alcalde  de  Corte.  (Carvallo  collection.  Tours,  France.) 

1.50  by  0.85.  Page  173.  Plate  54. 

283.  Maria  Martinez  de  Puga.  (Knoedler  Gallery,  London,  Paris,  New 

York.)  Page  173. 


2i6  FRANCISCO  GOYA  Y  LUCHANTES 

284.  Joaquin  Maria  Ferrer.  (Conde  de  Caudilla,  Madrid.)  0.73  by  0.59. 

Page  178. 

285.  Manuela  de  Alvarez  Coiñas  y  Thomas  de  Ferrer.  (Marqués  de 

Barojo,  Madrid.)  0.73  by  0.60.  Page  178. 

286.  Leandro  Fernández  de  Moratin.  (Marquesa  de  Sil  vela.)  o.6obyo.49. 

Paire  181. 

o 

287.  Manuel  Silvela.  (Marquesa  de  Silvela,  Madrid.)  0.95  by  0.68. 

Page  181. 

288.  An  unknown  lady,  head  and  shoulders.  (Formerly  belonged  to  the 

late  Sir  Hugh  Lane,  England.)  Page  175. 

289.  A  lady  of  the  Silvela  family,  head  and  shoulders.  (Marqués  de  la 

Vega  Inclán.)  Page  182. 

290.  Jacques  Galos.  Signed  and  dated  in  1826.  (Condesa  d’Houdetot.) 

0.60  by  0.44.  Page  182.  Plate  55. 

291.  Juan  Bautista  de  Muguiro.  (Conde  de  Muguiro,  Madrid.)  1.02  by 

0.85.  Page  185.  Plate  56. 

292.  José  Pio  de  Molina.  Probably  the  last  portrait  made  by  Goya.  Of 

supreme  interest.  As  it  has  only  appeared  lately  I  cannot  speak 
of  it  in  detail  in  this  edition.  (In  the  collection  of  D.  Eduardo  A. 
Rodenas,  Madrid.) 


CHISWICK  PRESS  :  CHARLES  WHITTIN'GHAM  AND  GRIGGS  (PRINTERS),  LTD. 
LOOKS  COURT,  CHANCERY  LANE,  LONDON. 


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